The Earth's Bounty
by SuperMastour
Summary: What if our amnesiac had not found the perfect life in Kardia? What if he had stumbled across the darker corners of human nature during his recovery? Raguna, stricken by the plights of the past, becomes "The Most Dangerous Bounty Hunter on The Continent", and must fight against dangerous contracts and himself to keep on with his life. It's Finished! Epilogue up
1. Chapter 1

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **INTRODUCTION**

* * *

 _Perhaps my life could have gone a bit differently, perhaps it could have been better.  
Alas, this was not the case._

 _The very moment I contacted civilization while I was struck with amnesia, the fortunes of my life turned away from me, they forsook me._

 _There was no welcome, no water, no food- for a while, at least. That was until I met them.  
_

 _A small farming family took me in after I had wandered deep enough, and they showered me with the kindness that could heal a broken mind. I still remember the farmer, his wife, and their small daughter, sometimes I wish I had more time with them. These three took care of my weary and lost self, giving me shelter and sustenance._

 _However, this all changed._

 _One day, when the farmer was out in the field, at least from what I was told, since I was out in the village, someone struck him down. Later, when I returned to the homestead, I found that the house had been burned to the ground, and the farmer's elven wife and young daughter were nowhere to be seen. In haste, I ran back to the town, only to stop mid trail to find the quick and sloppy burials of those who had taken care of me._

 _The townspeople were horrified and tried to find the perpetrator among them, the local militia was rounded up and the search reached into the farms and the woods around the village._

 _However, in me, I knew that their search will end in vain._

 _So picking up a spare sword I had brought with me when I was a vagabond, I searched in the town, where none of the militia members were. Then, walking inside the base of the militia, I found the commander of the fighting force chuckling with a companion._

 _Their words boiled my blood, as their words were drawn like spears against the elven kind._

 _It was at that moment I found out that the spear-like words were the ones that drew the blood of the family. So, I stormed in, faced the commander and the companion, and charged._

 _Of course, it took the militia until the morning to figure out what I had found out hours earlier. They congratulated me for taking down the murderer and brought me to the tavern, where they praised my effort._

 _It was late into the night when one of the militia men came up to me, and introducing himself as a veteran of the Great War, he sat next to me. His gray beard showed experience and wisdom, yet his words showed cunning and shrewdness._

 _He told me that I had a natural skill for something he once was after the War._  
 _He told me that my sense to punish those who have done wrongs to society will help me.._

 _He told me I would be a great Bounty Hunter..._

 **0000000**

"Can I see someone?" a lanky young man told a tavern owner.

"Who will it be, son?" the old man asked as the young man pulled out a small paper, "Hm..." he grabbed it and looked at it, his face instantly changing expression.

"Can I see him?" the young man whispered.

"Follow me..." the tavern owner muttered and bobbed his head behind him.

The young man went behind the counter and followed the owner behind a curtain concealed door, where a long, barely lit hallway was found.

"Why do you need him?" the tavern owner asked as they walked down the dark corridor.

"I need someone to avenge my cousin." the young man muttered, "He was killed on the road to Surina." he informed.

"You know he doesn't do services cheap, boy." the tavern owner said as he turned a corner, "He will ask for a pretty coin."

"I will pay what is necessary." the young man grumbled, "As long as someone gets those bandits."

"Well, in that case, I'd also make funeral arrangements for those men." the tavern owner chuckled, "Because he's the best bounty hunter on the continent." he said and opened another door, where a smaller, secondary tavern was found.

All the men and few women inside turned to the newcomer, staring him down to death.

"Er hem." the tavern owner cleared his throat, "Raguna... you got a proposition." he announced, which made the entire bar go silent.

A young man at the end of the room stood up, then walked up to them. The air around him reeked of aggression and hostility, so much so that those who stood or sat in his way quickly parted to let him pass.

"Um... Raguna?" the young man asked, but was interrupted when the man raised his hand.

"What is it you need?" Raguna bluntly asked as he fixed his brown cape, "And you'd best have the money... I don't like people wasting my time."

"I uh... Need someone to get these men..." the young man handed him three wanted posters, "They... uh... killed my cousin..." he moved his blonde locks out of his eyes, "I-"

"Dead or Alive?" Raguna read the posters, "What's it gonna be?" he glared at the young man.

"Uh... whatever you prefer... sir." the young man stammered, "Just... tell me what it's gonna... be..."

"60% of the reward amount." Raguna told him, "Plus an extra 7,000 coin for logistics and food." he said, "That will be... 560,000 coin." he crunched the numbers.

"Well... I got the logistics for you..." the young man pulled out some maps and papers, which kind of stunned Raguna.

"My my... you sure did your research." Raguna looked at one of the maps, "What's your name, man?" he asked as he scanned the logistical information.

"Lukas... sir." the young man spoke.

"What do you do for a living, Luke?" Raguna read some of the files, "This seems like some heavy handed sleuthing here."

"I'm a traveling poet..." Lukas responded, "A minstrel... so was my cousin, which is why he was killed on the road to Surina- I study maps as a hobby... and read mystery novels..." he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"You just made my job a whole lot easier..." Raguna put up the information in his bag, "You know what... I'm so impressed, I'll knock off that 7,000 coin." he patted Lukas's shoulder, "553,000 coin... You got a deal?"

"Deal." Lukas nodded and shook his hand, but was taken back by Raguna's strong grip.

"Is that another one in the books, Rag?" a man at the counter asked, a husky and fit young man with brown hair that stood up at the bangs.

"You got me, Camus." Raguna pointed, "But make sure to mark it down as a completed mission this time!" he growled.

"I gotcha, man." Camus chuckled and shook his head, then turned to the chalkboard and wrote a dash on Raguna's spot.

"Keep that up, and you'll leave us out of a job." one of the other bounty hunters chuckled.

"Give me two days." Raguna told Lukas, "I'll give you all of them..." he muttered and walked out.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Earth's Bounty  
Chapter 2**

* * *

"HAGH!" a bandit was struck by a small crossbow bolt in the back, making fall down dead.

"What the hell!?" a dwarven bandit stood up and looked at the mouth of their bandit cave, "Hey!" he reached for his javelin when he saw a shadowy figure.

KLING! A second bolt fired and struck the dwarf in the neck, instantly taking him down as well.

"Ah... Ah..." the last bandit raised his hands up in surrender, "Who... who are you!?" he saw the figure's shiny plated armor and helmet.

"Justice." the figure said and grabbed some bolas from his belt, then swung them at the bandit, who tried to make a hasty reach for his sword.

"GWAH!" the bandit groaned as he collapsed to the ground once the bolas snared him, "Argh..."

"You're on borrowed time." the figure removed his helm, revealing it was Raguna, "You will fetch a pretty penny and a fair judgment." he grabbed the man and tied a rope around his mouth.

0000000

In a nearby Sechs town, Raguna rode down an armored buffaloo through the main dirt road, which was at the time also giving way to a small Sechs military procession.

Some of the Sechs knights saw as the bounty hunter rode it with two bodies and a criminal on the beast's back, having a double take as they marched down.

Raguna stopped his beast in front of the local Constabulary, where the constable of the town stepped out and looked at him.

"What do you have for me now?" the lightly armored man asked as Raguna stepped off the buffaloo and dropped down the two bodies, "Ah... I see your crossbow finger was twitchy." he chuckled.

"Hey... I left one, be grateful." Raguna forcibly dropped the living bandit down to the ground, making the man grunt in pain.

"Who are they?" the constable asked as he walked up to the bandits.

"These men." Raguna handed the Wanted Posters to the man, who nodded his head and looked back at him.

"Oh yeah... These guys have been screwing people over all down the highway." the constable informed, "Even attacked an off-duty soldier." he chuckled, "Well, at least you got them." he looked at the living bandit.

"Well, it had to be done." Raguna said and took off his gauntlets.

"Ah yes... your pay." the constable mumbled as he dragged the body of the dwarven bandit up to his wooden porch, then walked into his office. Moments later, he emerged with three different papers, all of them bearing a wax seal and signature at the bottom.  
"Show them to the bank, they'll pay you." the man pointed to the building at the center of the town.

"Alright." Raguna nodded and walked off, being watched by some nearby townspeople as he did so.

0000000

"Here's your forty percent." Raguna told Lukas as he passed a bag of coin to him, "I got the job done."

"How many-"

"Two." Raguna interrupted him, "The last one I captured living- my mercy is boundless." he chuckled and turned to the tavern owner.

"Thank you so muc-"

"Stop." Raguna grunted as he received a bottle of mead, "I hate it when people try to kiss my arse." he shook his head, "Just doing my job..."

"Oh.. ok." Lukas nodded, "Are you... are you..."

"Gonna drink this all by myself?" Raguna asked him, then looked at the full bottle, "I don't usually like sharing, but since you did save me the painstaking work of looking at maps and the lot, I'll make this exception." he chuckled a bit and opened the bottle.

"Wow..." Lukas said as he stared at Raguna's repeating crossbow, which was slung on his back. He was mesmerized by the fine gold plating on the stock, which had the engravings of a large dragon. "Did you do that yourself?"

"That? Nah..." Raguna scoffed and took a drink, "I don't have that kind of skill... I got some dwarve lass to do it for me... in exchange for a service..." he laughed and winked.

"What kind of ser- ohhhh..." Lukas said in realization, "Well... it looks pretty cool... Is that, Terrable?"

"Yep." Raguna nodded, "Everything about this thing is custom made." he bobbed his head, "The best I can do is 10 bolts per 15 seconds."

"That's amaz-" he stopped when he heard the door open.

"We got another one." the tavern owner shook his head and looked at Camus, who sighed and promptly erased the name of a bounty hunter on the chalkboard.

"What happened?" Lukas asked, then saw Raguna and the other bounty hunters take of their helmets (or hats) in reverance. "Oh." he mumbled and also took off his small blue hat.

"A pity, really." Raguna looked back up and placed his helmet on the counter, "Some of them never complete their missions."

"Well this person was off near the capital." Camus interjected, "I guess the Imperial Guard mistook her for a criminal- how ironic." he let out a painful chuckle.

"What was her contract?" Raguna asked, and Camus pulled out a small notebook.

"She was supposed to capture or kill a rogue assassin for a local constable..." Camus read the information, "It must have been a tough one."

"You get contracts straight from the government?" Lukas asked them.

"Yeah..." Raguna said, "Hell, I get contracts from the Sechs almost every time... Not from the Noradians, though, they have their own fancy dancy royal police." he scoffed, "The Sechs Empire is where you really make a living off of this."

"Do you ever-"

"We have some hits in Norad." Camus interrupted Lukas, "If that's what you were going to ask..." he looked as the minstrel nodded, "But not as many as we get here in the Sechs... I even come from Norad myself, a town just off the border called Kardia."

"I told you so many times to take me there." Raguna told his friend, "Heck, if the girls are as beautiful as you say they are, I may even consider taking a vacation."

"Trust me, you'll love them." Camus laughed, then turned to Lukas, "You've ever been there, mate?"

"Kardia... ah yes!" Lukas said, "There was a beautiful lass there... I believe... Rosetta was her name." he smiled, the effects of the mead getting to him, "I wrote her many poems, but she never beat her eye to me... Alas, what a sad tale!" he laughed and stood up, catching the attention of the others.

"You're a minstrel, sing us a song." Camus told him, "How about it guys, we got ourselves a star here!" he told the bounty hunters, some of whom smiled and nodded.

"Guys, please, I'm not a star." Lukas chuckled, "I'm just a lonely old man down to Earth..." he started to sing, "I don't have money, strength, or even girth." he winked and slurred, causing the bounty hunters to chuckled.

"But I do know one thing... And this one thing is the very thing I want all of you to knowwwwww...  
That even when your life is going slow.

A woman can turn your day around.  
A lass whose voice is a sweet sound!  
A lass whose buttocks are so round.

It'll make your rainy day!" he sang, and the bounty hunters started bobbing their heads and clapping to make a beat.

0000000

"Agh..." Lukas groaned as he woke up, then saw Raguna at the foot of the bed, "What... What happened?" he asked groggily, "Agh.. my head..."

"Mead does that to you." Raguna shook his head, "Come on, you gotta go home, I don't wanna pay for another night here." he grumbled and picked up Lukas.

"Agh... where's... where's." Lukas looked around, then felt a bump in his bag, "Ah.. there's my wallet." he smiled and looked at Raguna.

"Your job is done, your cousin is avenged, your life can go on." Raguna told him, "If you ever need my services, you know where to go."

"Let's hope I don't need your services again." Lukas chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, then placed his hat on his head, "Hey... thanks..."

"Get out of here!" Raguna grumbled as the minstrel left, then looked out the window to see a coach pull up the city road.

"Hey, Rag." Camus walked in, causing the bounty hunter to turn, "You got time to go to Kardia?" he smirked.

"Huh?" Raguna asked, "What do yo-"

"Mr. Broxen is taking my place for the moment at the Hunter's Guild." Camus referred to the tavern owner, "I say we leave this city and spend a few moments there... Maybe you can even get new business."

"Are you serious?" Raguna muttered, "Well, should we take coach or Buffamave?" he asked the man.

"I don't feel like paying for a coach." Camus muttered, "Let's take your guy..."

"Alright, but don't complain about not being to take much luggage." Raguna chuckled, "Perhaps someone will hire me over there." he chuckled, "Or not... I really need a vacation."

"Well, you're gonna get one!" Camus grinned, "Come on!"

 **0000000**

Raguna and Camus boarded Buffamave, the bounty hunter's buffaloo, and started to set course down the Sechs city road.

"Kardia, here we come!" Camus cheered as they entered the traffic.

"Let's do this." Raguna nodded and rode ahead.

* * *

 **SM'S Time:**

 **As you have seen, this story is rated M. Why am I doing a rated M fic? Because I want to broaden my horizons and tackle real life problems I usually censor in my other fics.**  
 **So, Reader Discretion is advised, the following story touches upon these themes:**  
 **Murder**  
 **Violence**  
 **Coarse Language**  
 **Sexual Themes  
I do not Condone these behaviors or acts! Do NOT try them at home!**

 **Please Review, I hope you enjoy the story!**  
 **Disclaimer, I don't own Rune Factory!**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

"Next!" some Noradian knights let a coach pass and then looked at Raguna and Camus, "Alright." he said and two other knights joined him.

"Your reason for entering?" another knight asked them.

"Tourism." Raguna responded, "We're going to Kardia." he said.

"Hmm..." the knights inspected the buffaloo, "Clear!" one of them said after inspecting the sacks around the beast.

"Alright... Welcome to the Kingdom of Norad, the cradle of Mankind." the main knight stepped aside and let them pass.

0000000

"Hmm..." Camus muttered as the day started to die down, "Dang... Oh!" he exclaimed as he saw a light in the distance, "That's it! There's Kardia!" he pointed ahead.

"Good, we'll get there before nightfall." Raguna muttered, "Too bad I won't have time to sightsee." he chuckled and then picked up speed.

00

The town was of moderate size, not too big or too small, and it seemed that it was a fully functioning hamlet.

At a first glance there was a lot of buildings, which signified that this town was of some importance, but a few more scans revealed that that was all about the area. Save for the large mountains at it's north west part, it was kind of... plain.

"Once you cross this river, it's a close drive to the Inn." Camus informed as the group went over a bridge, "Hey, look." he pointed to a run down house, "Man... I guess she didn't get anyone." he sighed.

"Who didn't?" Raguna asked as he continued ahead.

"Just a girl I used to know." Camus answered, "She was looking for someone to give that house to, but nope, I guess no one showed up." he said.

"Hmm..." Raguna looked at the homestead, "Perhaps... Maybe I can make a base?" he pondered, "Nah." he quickly shrugged the idea off as ludicrous.

"You might make a business here, actually." Camus said, "Heck, this is so close to the Sechs border you may be able to take contracts from the other side!" he exclaimed.

"Well.. that's true." Raguna said, then saw as they entered Kardia proper, "Wow..."

"The Inn is just to the right." Camus pointed to a fairly large building, "Then that will be your favorite place... the tavern." he chuckled as they passed the first building.

"I'll be sure to visit it." Raguna laughed and then parked his buffaloo next to the Inn, "Well.. it's getting late..." he looked up to the starry sky as he hopped off.

"Yeh... even now I don't want to go drink." Camus commented as he grabbed his pack from the beast's flanks, causing the monster to snort in relief.

"You rest, Buffomave." Raguna patted his beast's back and scratched its chin, "Heph!" he grabbed his pack and crossbow, then followed Camus, "Here, have this." he chunked his pack at him.

"Agh!" Camus growled, "Ugh... I guess... for the free ride." Camus grumbled and then walked in, closely followed by the bounty hunter.

The light inside the inn stunned them for a few seconds, then they looked around to see that the desk was empty.

"Hmm..." Raguna looked around, then saw a woman come out of a closet with a mop, "Ah."

"Ah! Hello!" the woman said, "I'm Lady Ann, welcome to my Inn." she introduced herself, "Are you staying the night?" she asked.

"Yes." Camus walked up, "Two." he placed a bag of coin on the desk.

"Well well well... if it isn't daddy's little fugitive?" Lady Ann grumbled as she looked at Camus, "How are you in the Sechs?" she asked.

"Good, on a vacation with my friend and business partner here." Camus smirked, "In fact... I have such a good business going on away from this bum town." he taunted.

"Is there anything I need to know?" Raguna asked Camus, who shook his head.

"Your rooms are at the far right." Lady Ann pointed to the two dormitories and gave them separate keys, "Here."

00000000

Raguna sighed as he entered his room, shut the door, and then walked to his bed. "Huh." he exhaled when he sat down on the soft mattress, then took off his boots to reveal his tired feet.

The bounty hunter set down his repeating crossbow on the counter, as well as his helmet and armor, then removed his garments and exposed his wooly underclothing, and a scar running down his left shoulder.

"I'm ready to hit the hay..." Raguna groaned as he plopped on the bed like a brick and looked up to the ceiling, then turned off the nearby lamp.

00000000

"Huah!" Raguna yawned as he woke up to the pounding sounds on his door, "What the-"

"Raguna! Get up!" Camus yelled from the other side, "You'll be late for the grand tour!" he joked.

"On my way..." Raguna groggily rubbed his eyes and stretched when he sat up, then lifted his legs off the bed and onto the ground.

The bounty hunter stood and washed his face with a bowl and water atop one of the counters, then dried himself off with a towel and walked to his clothing.

First came the thick garments, which seemed to be designed to lessen the effect of sword blows and stabs. Then came his armor, which looked to be strong enough to withstand arrows but light enough to allow quick footed agility.

"Hurry up! I'm getting old already."

"There we go..." Raguna muttered as he placed on his boots, then his gauntlets, and finally strapped on his repeating crossbow, "Coming!" he said and grabbed his helmet.

"About time." Camus grumbled as he saw Raguna open the door, "Come on, you'll miss all the things." he said, "I already bought the next night so it's ok to leave your things here... unless you like lugging that." he chuckled.

"I like to be prepared." Raguna informed, "Now, show me Kardia." he directed his friend ahead.

00000000

"And this is the park." Camus said as the two strolled down the large open space, "Sometimes kids like to come here and play, but I guess they're not." he saw that the park was empty.

"It's pretty plain, to be honest." Raguna commented, "Unless you got something else to show me that won't get sand in my boots." he sighed.

"I told you not to stand to close to the tide." Camus grumbled, then continued walking, "But I'll show you the best view in all of Ka-" he paused when he saw his friend was not following him, "Hey-"

Raguna was looking the other way, towards a young woman with long, dark brown hair who was walking about with a parasol.

"Well... I guess that's a sight he enjoys..." Camus mumbled to himself and shook his head, "Like what you see?" he said as he ran to his ally.

"Mhm..." Raguna nodded, "Who is that?" he stared at the woman.

"If memory serves me... That should be..." Camus squinted, "That's Felicity, the Mayor's daughter." he informed, "And no- She is not married, at least from what I remember..." he added.

"I guess I should go find out." Raguna smirked and strutted off, his armor klinging as he did so.

"It's not even the first day and he wants to equip his spear." Camus shook his head, "That's typical of him... huh..." he stood there looking.

"Excuse me there, miss." Raguna walked up to the young woman, who turned in surprise.

"Ah. Hello!" Felicity responded, then looked at the young man, "And who might you be?" she asked.

"My name is Raguna Fetth." Raguna answered her, "May I say, you do look very lovely today." he complimented her.

"Oh... thank you." Felicity mumbled, "Such a charming man are you, but I prefer that the flattery be put away, please." she told him.

"I see you are a simple girl." Raguna replied, "Well, I'm a simple man myself, I used to work in the fields and such... just down to earth things..." he muttered.

"Doesn't look like it now." Felicity looked at the man's clothing, "Looks like you're a knight or soldier.." she guessed.

"Why yes, you can say that." Raguna said, "I have sworn my life to punish the bad and those who attack our statutes." he clenched his fist, "Please, if it is not much problem, may I invite you for a bite to eat or-"

"I'm sorry, I have to work." Felicity informed, "I'm about to finish my break, perhaps another time, ok?"

"Hmm..." Raguna frowned, then thought up another plan, "Well, before you go, want to see something amazing?" he asked, catching the woman's interest.

"What could it be?" Felicity asked, then saw Raguna pull out a strawberry from his pocket.

"If I hit this strawberry midair, and then hit the turnip behind it while blindfolded... would my fair lass give me a kiss?" Raguna asked as he pulled out a turnip.

"Well... if you can do such a thing, that is an amazing enough feat." Felicity blushed, then received the strawberry and turnip from the man.

"Haha." Raguna pulled out a blindfold and wrapped it around his eyes, "Double check." he placed his face near Felicity.

"No peekholes." Felicity inspected his covering, "Very well, what do I do?" she asked as she saw Raguna step back.

A few meters away was Camus.

"The good ol' Blind Shot..." he chuckled, "You never cease to confound me, Raguna."

"Am I facing you?" Raguna asked Felicity as he stood a few meters away from her.

"Yes." Felicity responded, then saw Raguna turn away, "What do I do?" she asked.

"Just throw them up." Raguna responded, "Easy as that."

"Okay." Felicity said, "Ha!" she threw the strawberry and turnip up into the sky.

Raguna concentrated, and once the two objects entered a certain plane, he quickly turned and fired one crossbow bolt, striking both of the items cleanly.

TLONG! The bolt vibrated as it hit a nearby tree and became stuck there.

"Wow!" Felicity was amazed by the feat, then saw Raguna remove his blindfold and look at his success.

"What did you think?" the man chuckled as he walked towards his real goal, "Duty calls." he leaned towards her.

"I did make the bet." Felicity giggled and kissed him, but was taken back by the fact that Raguna brought her in deeper.

"Phase 1, complete." Camus commented as he saw the two break away.

"Wow..." Felicity gasped as she was overwhelmed by emotion, "I... that was..."

"What can I say?" Raguna spun his crossbow and slung it on his back, "The things I do for beautiful women..." he grabbed her hand.

"I-I-I need to get to work." Felicity stammered and grabbed her parasol.

"Perhaps you can save time for another amazing feat?" Raguna asked the young woman, making her turn.

00000000

"Raguna?" Camus walked inside the inn and saw it was silent, "Agh... I leave him alone for a few hours and I lose him by evening." he grumbled and walked to his room, only to stop by his friend's door.

"I wonder." he muttered and used the spare key he got from Lady Ann to open the door.

"Ha..." Raguna exhaled as he got off of Felicity and rolled over on the bed, exposing his bare chest to Camus.

"Well, I know where you were, now!" Camus yelled, shocking both of them greatly.

"CAMUS!" Raguna growled as he covered himself.

"Can't even leave you in this town without you becoming a tomcat." Camus sighed, "I'll be out at the tavern if you need me." he shut the door and locked it.

"How embarrassing..." Felicity muttered as she exposed her bare body to grab her clothes, "But... how thrilling..." she purred at Raguna, who was sitting up at this time.

"I guess being so down to earth makes you want more things that take you out of this realm." Raguna coyly told her, "I told you I'll show you an amazing feat." he said and brought her down again.

 **00000000**

"Two more." Camus told the blue haired tavern owner, "Oh, and Emmett, don't hold back on the hard stuff." he told the old man.

"At this rate, you'll knock yourself out harder than an orc struck with a hammer." Emmett chuckled as he pulled out an orange colored bottle of mead, "But the customer is always right." he poured in a glass.

At that moment, the doors gave way to Raguna, who caught the attention of those inside the tavern.

"Hey... that's that bounty hunter..." Emmett muttered, "What's his name... Raguna Fetth?" he asked Camus.

"Yep." Camus nodded.

"I hear he was the one that took out the man who killed the Nobel of Laera..." Emmett said as he saw Raguna walk towards him, "You think he's back to work for the crown?"

"More like, to work with the womb..." Camus grumbled.

"Bounty Hunter!" a Noradian soldier in the pub stood up and pointed to Raguna, "I request your assistance!" he told him.

"Hmm?" Raguna turned to face the soldier, who held a wanted poster in his hand, "What is it you need?" he bluntly asked the man.

"I need you to find this man." the soldier spoke and showed him the paper, which had the picture of an old man with glasses and a poofy hat, "He's been stealing magic books and fire crystals from local magic shops in the county." he informed, "If you find him, you keep the bail."

"Do you know the last location he was seen?" Raguna asked the soldier as he looked at the poster, which said WANTED ALIVE.

"My cavalry squad last got the report just a bit north of here, before hitting a hamlet called Kiora." the soldier reported, "He's an old man so he probably stayed in the area waiting for sunrise."

"How far is Kiora?" Raguna asked.

"You just go north for about an hour and a half." a blonde man responded, "Just a small hamlet, you can't miss it, it's literally on the road to the provincial capital."

"Thank you." Raguna said, "Enjoy your drink, Camus." he told his friend, who waved him off.

* * *

 **SM's Time:  
To my Guest Reviewer(s?): Yes this story will have "lemons", but they will be very tame and will be entirely related to the plot- not freelance writing. As you have seen the "lemon" scene here, it will be of that kind of tame magnitude.**

 **Please Review and I hope you enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter Four**

* * *

"Hrmph hrmph..." Buffomave snorted as Raguna rode him down the dirt road, only to be startled when a Noradian soldier on a horse came out of the woods.

"AGH!" the soldier groaned as he fell off his steed, an arrow protruding from his back.

"Hm?" Raguna stopped his beast, then jumped off and ran to calm the horse down, "Hey Hey Hey!" he raised his arms up as the steed jeered and shot up.

"NYEH!" The horse snorted and stomped down, then spun around once and became calm.

"Alright..." Raguna sighed and turned to soldier, who had managed to sit up and take out the arrow from his back, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." the soldier panted as he threw the arrow to the ground, "I was chasing a criminal into the woods..." he grimaced and grabbed a cloth from his bag, "But there seems to be booby traps everywhere." he muttered and used his horse to stand up, "I lost one of my comrades."

"Perhaps the criminal you were chasing looked like this?" Raguna pulled out a poster, which caused the man's eyes to open.

"Yes." the soldier said, "I only caught a glimpse of his face because he was wearing a cloak... And I did get struck by that arrow." he looked, "How'd yo- Oh snap!" he stepped back once he looked at Raguna's armor, "You're the Bounty Hunter!" he said, "The Runemate!"

"Aye, that be me." Raguna nodded and went to the edge of the road, facing the forest ahead, "You said you saw him move dead ahead?" he inquired.

"Yeah... but that place is booby trapped." the soldier responded, "I would wait for day time in order to see th-"

"No time for that." Raguna shrugged the soldier's warning, "I got a contract... I never fail my contracts..." he armed his crossbow and stepped into the brush, "Watch the animals."

"You need m-"

"I prefer to work alone." Raguna muttered and rushed into the woods.

00000000

The woods were extra dark, due to the thick canopy above blocking the lights of the heavens above. Few things were up and moving at this time, but a few nocturnal insects and birds were creating a miniature symphony for the hour of darkness.

Raguna grunted as he hacked some vines with his gladius, then kicked a log out of the way.

"Let's see..." Raguna muttered as he looked around, then used the light of a small fire spell he emitted to look a few meters ahead of him.

On the ground, momentarily illuminated by the fireball, was a long and thin trip wire.

"Ah, I almost fell for that." Raguna said as he walked over the trap and marched ahead, only to stop when the ground under him fell apart.

"AGH!" the bounty hunter yelled and barely stopped his fall by grabbing an overhanging branch, "Damn..." he looked down to make out the figures of long punji stakes beneath him.

The young man swung off and landed ahead of the deadly trick, then looked ahead to see a dim light shining in the distance. It appeared to be a small shack, a bit tattered but still habitable.

"Hmm." Raguna muttered, then saw the other soldier, an elven woman, stapled to a tree by four crossbow bolts. Fresh prints on the ground notified that her steed had fled the scene after her death in a panic.

Suddenly, after accidentally pressing a wooden plank, a crossbow appeared from behind the bushes and planned to give the same fate to the bounty hunter.

"Wah!" Raguna dove for cover as the large bolts screamed past his head, "Ha!" he exhaled sharply as he saw the mechanical crossbow retreat back into the brush.

The old shack was now about a stone's throw away, and Raguna was not going to take any chances by opening the door. So, fearing the door held one final booby trap or had the criminal lying in wait behind it, Raguna sprinted and jumped through the window.

KLING! The glass shattered into hundreds of pieces, and an old man by a desk woke up in fright.

"BWAH!" the man fell off his chair and saw Raguna roll to stand up, "Who-Who-Who are you!?" he trembled as the young man towered over him.

"Your head is wanted." Raguna pointed at him, "Do not resist arrest." he pulled out some rope.

"Wait! This is a misunderstanding!" the old man slid back, "Please... you have got to believe me! I need these items for something-"

"Shut it." Raguna picked him up forcibly, "You're under arrest for theft." he tied the old man's hands behind his back, "You'll fetch my some good coin you... And with those bobby traps with the soldier mortality, you might even get your head off." he chuckled and pushed the old man into the wall.

"Please! I need this!" the old man pleaded, "This invention is all I have..." he cried, "My granddaughters have both left me... This invention is all I have left to give me hope." he muttered and looked down to the ground.

"Right right... Am I supposed to believe you now?" Raguna picked him up again and slammed him on the desk.

"Please..." the old man groaned, "You have to believe me... look at my... journals..." he looked at the books on his desk, which were by now a bit scattered.

"Hmm..." Raguna looked at one that was opened, which had quite elegant handwriting, "So... the name's Kanno?" he muttered, "Hell, I'm impressed, you sure do know your stuff." he picked him up, "Why would a man of your profession be forced to steal?" he asked.

"I had no money." the elder muttered as he became tired, "My granddaughters... they were taken from me..." he cried, but this was one of pure bitterness.

"Why- You just said they left you!" Raguna said, "What's this about they were taken from you? Like what? Kidnapped?" he growled.

"Yes..." Kanno muttered, "My invention was supposed to help me find them..." he said, "But now I won't be able to." he sighed.

"What is this invention, anyways?" Raguna asked Kanno and tightened his grip on the rope.

"Page-Page 32!" Kanno groaned as he felt his wrists being constricted, "It's all there!"

Raguna grabbed the open journal and flipped through it with one hand, arriving at the desired page. This part of the journal had a large illustration of what appeared to be a solid backpack looking device, and even had it in theoretical action by illustrating it sending a man into the air.

"What the hell?" Raguna looked at the journal, "The hell is this?" he asked the old man.

"It's a flying pack..." Kanno muttered, "It uses levitation magic to send a person up into the air..." he sighed, "I thought it would help me scout the area."

Raguna looked at the journal, then back at the old man.

00000000

"Is that him?" the soldier asked as Raguna exited the woods with Kanno in his custody, "Doesn't look like a criminal, more like a grandpa." he shook his head.

"Here he is." Raguna said as he fixed something on his back, it was the flying pack that Kanno had been working on, "In flesh and blood."

"I'll pay you in tow-"

"I need you to let me see your wanted signs." Raguna interrupted the soldier as he kept Kanno away from him, "Before I hand him over."

"Uh... Ok?" the soldier said uneasily as he went to his horse and pulled out a large roll of papers from one of the saddle bags, "Here's all of them- but why?" he asked.

Raguna took the roll and handed Kanno to the soldier, then scanned every last one of the posters until he came upon one.

WANTED: KIDNAPPING AND BURGLARY

"What is this-"

"Kanno, who was the person who took your daughters?" Raguna asked the old man, stunning the soldier.

"Hey! This isn't a-"

"A man by the name of Brodick." Kanno muttered, "He came into my hometown one day and ravaged a farm... Then he entered my home and took my daughters..."

"Brodik... I've heard that name before." the soldier said, "Ah! Yes!" he snapped his fingers, "We had received a message from the Sechs Border Patrol about a rogue soldier that had escaped their regiments."

"I'm guessing he's the deserter." Raguna said, "And the kidnapper... Where do you think he is?" he asked Kanno.

"Last time I heard of him, he was lurking around my home town of Trampoli..." Kanno sighed, "But he may have moved on."

"Trampoli will take you 7 hours by foot." the soldier informed, "It'll take you until the afternoon at this hour." he looked up at the dark sky.

"Kanno." Raguna turned to him, "Does this thing have a fuel supply?" he asked the elder.

"Yes... it uses Rune Power to start a chain reaction between the fire crystal and a Rune Stone in order to activate the levitation spell." Kanno told him, "It goes on as long as you go on, really."

"How fast can it go?" Raguna asked, though he got a head shake from Kanno.

"What are you two babbling about?" the soldier asked in confusion as the two talked to each other.

"Well, it's best to try this out." Raguna nodded, then held a small lever in his right hand, "HAH!" he activated the magic spell carved into the wooden part, then the flight pack started to raise him from the ground.

"It actually works!" Kanno gasped as he saw Raguna rise around 2 meters from the ground.

"What in the King of Norad's beard?" the soldier stepped back, "What kind of sorcery is this!?" he asked as the man took off.

* * *

 **SM's Time:  
I hope you enjoy! Please REVIEW!  
I appreciate Constructive Criticism!**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

"Ha.. Ha... HA..." Raguna panted as the rune magic drained his energy, "I knew I should have eaten dinner... but I only ate Felicity." he smirked, then felt the cold night wind pierce his armor like a blade.

He was around 20 meters from the ground, well above the forest canopy below him. It was at this altitude that the light of the crescent moon and all the stars could be seen above him.

"I can't see anything..." Raguna groaned as he saw nothing but forest for miles around, "I can't believe it-" he stumbled across something very peculiar.

In the woods there was a clear circular cut out in the canopy, which upon closer investigation revealed that a small camp was set up in there. Several people in the camp were startled by the sudden fly by of the Bounty Hunter, and some ran to grab their bows.

"Uh oh..." Raguna mumbled, then avoided an arrow that was shot at him, "HRA..." he groaned when one struck his shoulder and made him descend into the clearing.

"There he is!" one of the people ran to him with an axe, "RAH- Ggwh!" he groaned as he was struck by a small bolt.

"Amateurs..." Raguna grumbled lowly as he struck an elven archer who was ready to shoot him, "No wonder I work alone." he reloaded quickly and shot the man who was charging at him with a spear.

"Take this!" an elven fighter yelled and struck Raguna in the back with a sword, "Hyah!" she used her dagger on the other hand to try to catch his throat.

"NGH!" Raguna winced in pain as his armor deflected the blows, "Hyah!" he turned and caught the elven warrior's sword arm, "Barely a scratch." he smirked and grabbed her dagger arm, "I'd hate to kill such a beautiful woman, but this job isn't always pretty." he kicked her back.

"I'll kill you!" a man joined the fray and tried to chop Raguna with his axe.

"Hmp!" Raguna jumped and flew up, causing the two foes to collide, "Just for you." he fired a round into the elf's neck, taking her out.

"DIE!" the man threw his axe at Raguna, striking his Rune Flying Pack and making fall down.

"What the hell is going on!?" a man yelled, his longsword drawn, "Who the hell is this man!?" he pointed to Raguna.

"Ah..." Raguna recognized it was his target, "Brodik..." he stood up and pointed at him, "I intend to collect." he raised his repeating crossbow, only to be struck by a javelin thrown by one of Brodik's dwarven goons.

"Excellent." Brodik chuckled as his goons gathered around him, "This bounty hunter doesn't know what he's in for..." he looked at his henchmen, "Kill him." he grunted.

"Agh." Raguna groaned as he strained to pull out the javelin from his flank, "You- gang rushers..." he saw as all the goons, around five in total, ran to cleave, hack, and stab him. "Well, I've had worse." the bounty hunter looked at his wound, then back at his attackers.

With a dive and a roll, the bounty hunter avoided the first two attackers, but faced the next three.

"You're not ready for me." Raguna smirked and jumped up and struck one of the men in the chest with his gladius, then turned to shoot the next one in the eye.

"Die!" one of the men swung his axe, but his target ducked under him and cut his stomach open, "Agh..." he collapsed.

"Dwah!" Raguna was hit by a hammer and launched backwards, landing in one of the tents, causing it to fly open and his sword to leave his hand.

Inside, two females, bound and tied, shook their heads in fear and saw as the bounty hunter stood up weakly.

"I hate being knocked in the head." Raguna groaned as he focused ahead, only to see one of the men prepare to throw a spear, "Damn!" he drew his crossbow quickly and shot the goon in the chest.

"Ready for more?" the dwarf that hit him with the javelin and the hammer came back and struck Raguna in the right flank, causing the bounty hunter to capitulate and fall into the open fire.

"AHHHH!" Raguna screamed as he tried to get off, only rolling over when another goon tried to strike him with his blade, "You'll never kill me." he snarled and released two bolts into the man's chest.

"Hahahaha!" the dwarf returned, and watched by Brodik, raised his hammer high in order to show off his incoming feat.

"Ahhh..." Raguna was too weak to roll away, but saw his chance when he saw one of the ropes of the tents and pulled it. The rope brought up one of the stakes, which launched and struck the dwarf in the groin.

"OOH!" the dwarf groaned, giving Raguna a clear window to shoot him with his crossbow, "Gah..." he groaned as he collapsed and fell to the ground dead.

"Most impressive." Brodik clapped as he supported himself on his broadsword, "They sent a good man to save these two girls." he pointed to his captives, a young woman and a little lass, "However, you end here." he picked up his great blade.

"I don't think so." Raguna stood and looked at him, "I've dealt with worse." he put more bolts into his repeating crossbow, "And really, I'm all warmed up now." he joked as he aimed his crossbow at him.

"Ha!" Brodik sprinted to the side, avoiding the bolt, then swung his blade, which caused the successive shot to misfire.

"You're faster than I thought." Raguna stepped back, "But speed doesn't always matter... Women taught me that." he smirked, then fired another bolt.

"Hmph!" Brodik rolled to avoid it, then chipped Raguna's armor with the tip of his blade, "I'm just playing." he chuckled.

"Well I'm not." Raguna shot Brodik in the shoulder, causing him to snarl.

"You don't know me..." Brodik growled and removed the small bolt from his shoulder pad, "And that will be your end, Bounty hunter." he yelled and swung his blade again.

"Hmph!" Raguna grunted as he jumped back and back to avoid the successive swings, "HA!" he jumped to the side and fired another bolt, which bounced off the man's heavy armor.

"Nice try." Brodik chuckled and big booted Raguna into a tent, "But this is my gain, not yours." he grabbed his hostages, "And I don't plan to share."

"You sick bastard." Raguna stood up and looked at the little lass, "Your head will be a nice addition to my record, and to society." he mumbled, then fired another two bolts.

"HRAH!" Brodik rushed through the projectiles, tanking the pain and swinging his sword in range enough to cause considerable damage to Raguna.

"AGH!" Raguna yelled as the blade cut his right arm, severely impeding his ability to shoot, "You-" he shot another two bolts, which hit Brodik in the back.

"AUGH!" Brodik groaned as he was overcome by the pain of all four bolts in his body, "AGH!" he tried to pull out the bolts in his back.

"You're weak, this one will put you down." Raguna aimed his crossbow again, but saw that he had no bolts to accompany this round- and that his foe was fast recuperating.

In a split second decision, Raguna ran and kicked Brodik, causing the knight to fall forward face first into the fire.

"GAHHHH!" Brodik screamed in pain as the fire consumed his face.

"Now!" Raguna yelled and used his guantlet covered glove to slam the knight's head down and keep it there for a while. Overcoming the loud screams and the resistance, the bounty hunter pulled through and continued until there was no more movement to be made.

"I would want you to burn in hell... but it seems you already did the prelude."

 **00000000**

It was morning in the town of Kardia, and Camus was pacing back and forth in the main lobby of Lady Ann's Inn, only to be startled by the opening of the main door, which welcomed Raguna to him.

"Raguna!" the man yelled as he ran to him, "What the hell happened!?" he looked at his ally's bandaged arm, left hand, and abdomen.

"I had a contract, nothing too fancy." Raguna chuckled, "Plus, Look how much I made." he pulled out a large bag of coin, so much that it looked like a pain to carry it.

"You son of a b-" Camus looked at the bag, "Well.. that is a lot of money." he muttered as he felt its contents, "What do you plan to do with this?" he asked.

"What do I do with any of my coin?" Raguna asked and looked at him with a suave face.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

"Ha..." Raguna sighed as he drifted the hot baths of Gigant Springs, "Camus... You are really smart for this." he smiled as he saw his ally was also in ecstasy.

"I told you, this could heal a broken leg." Camus chuckled, then saw all the cuts and wounds on Raguna's body disappear, "See, told ya."

"I like this." Raguna nodded, "And it was extremely cheap." he chuckled and stood up, "Hold up, I'm going to take a breather." he walked out of the baths in order to get some steamless air.

"I'll keep it hot for you." Camus laughed as his ally walked off.

00000000

"Hmm hmm hmm." Raguna hummed, but was taken back by elven woman who was at the counter, "Hmm... after a second look, she isn't that bad." he said to himself as he looked at the person.

"Can I help you, sir?" the elf asked him, "If you are wondering about your armor, I set it up behind the counter to prevent theft." she informed him.

"No no, it's fine." Raguna fixed his collar, then remembered he had bought some champagne with his money, "But how about I give you a little something for keeping my things safe?" he asked and walked to his bag, then pulled out the bottle.

"Oh, sir, I couldn't." the elf shook her head, "Not on duty."

"Why not, a beautiful woman like you deserves to be treated like this." Raguna smirked as he walked up to her, "Please, it's on me..."he said seductively, then held the woman's dark skinned hands.

"Sir, I couldn't." the elf stammered, "I lived my life to serve, not be served." she commented, then felt Raguna feel her hands.

"Of course, your hands a rough and callous." Raguna mumbled, "Let me guess? A maid?" he asked, only to get a nod, "I've always found that strong, diligent women are the ones who have the real power in the home." he commented.

"Really?"

"Absolutely." Raguna stepped up, "And does this strong, beautiful woman have a name?" he spoke to her.

"Tabatha." the elf responded, "Please, you're too kind."

"Kind... I've always been kind." Raguna said, "To people, and especially to monsters." he said, causing Tabatha's eyes to dilate.

"Monsters?" Tabatha asked, "Really?"

"Oh yes, they're so misunderstood." Raguna gently touched her neck, "There should be no reason to be afraid of them, right?" he looked her in the eyes.

"But if the monster we're talking about plans to do what I think he does." Tabatha stared at him back, "I think I should be afraid." she mumbled.

"There's no need to be afraid of that monster." Raguna told her, "For monsters cannot be men..."

"But men can be monsters." Tabatha responded and stared into his rough and rugged eyes, the smiled softly.

00000000

"What took you so long?" Camus asked as Raguna returned into the bath, "The bath was starting to cool down."

"Don't whine." Raguna said as he fixed his ruffled hair and took off his wrinkled clothes, "I was... busy..."

"Don't lie to me, Raguna." Camus muttered, "I heard the tomcat meow from the other side of the wooden fence." he chuckled, "What, couldn't keep it in for a day?"

"What can I say, I'm a natural." Raguna stepped inside the bath, "Plus, I couldn't pass down such a blessed woman." he chuckled as he kept his champagne bottle out of the water.

"By blessed, I think you mean endowed." Camus swam to him, "Unless you actually me-"

"Nope, her bosoms were like the hills of Eucraft." Raguna said, "And her hips like the rocks of Sahranistan." he informed.

"And her screams like the ones of a banshee." Camus brought two foggy wineglasses, "You need to have mercy on these dames." he told the bounty hunter.

"I don't see why I should." Raguna shook his head as he poured in the wine, "They have a chance to reject me, but they do not. The fault is on their own heads if they're deflowered. Or does the flower blame the bee for blooming?" he asked.

"You're a sick bastard and you know it." Camus chuckled and shook his head, "Do I have to note this one down too?" he asked.

"Definitely." Raguna grinned and nodded, "By now I think I have more women as I have contracts completed." he laughed and drank his drink.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Camus chortled, "Knowing your life..."

"My life has taught me that the only thing that redeems women is being either your mother, your spouse, or your daughter." Raguna responded, "And the only thing that redeems a man is being a warrior... or dead." he shook his head.

00000000

"Thank you for coming." Tabatha told the two men as they exited the baths, then blew a kiss towards Raguna.

"I shall return to you!" Raguna told her before he exited, "We will own that farm you want with our kids!" he said and shut the door.

"What the- Oh..." Camus sighed, "The smooth talk."

"What, you think I'm actually going to settle down?" Raguna scoffed as the two men walked alongside each other, "Please..." he rolled his eyes.

"I heard it wasn't all that bad." Camus mumbled, "Though I wouldn't know... because-" he stopped when they passed the clinic.

"I wonder why you never showed me this place." Raguna looked at the building, "Even when they beat me to a bloody mess-" he stopped when he saw a figure in the window.

A beautiful red headed young woman was writing on a desk alongside a hospital bed, such a marvelous creature that seized Raguna's eyes that it also seized his mind and body, which made him move towards the door unconsciously.

"Woah ho ho Pinnochio!" Camus grabbed Raguna by the shoulders, "Not in there." he shook his head.

"Are you jesting?" Raguna asked, "Did you not see the beautiful dame in there? Are you blind?!" he pointed at the window, but was pushed aside by Camus.

"We do not go in there, ok?" Camus growled, "Do you have enough respect for me as a friend to not go in there, no matter how beautiful she is?" he asked.

"Very well." Raguna nodded, "But you owe me for this." he grumbled lowly.

 **00000000**

The afternoon sky settled high over Kardia, and Camus was found counting his coin outside Spring Rabbit Tavern. The air was a bit stagnant, the humidity from the morning lingering around to assault both mouth and lungs, causing them to become like water covered stones.

"How much do we have left?" Raguna asked Camus as the man inspected the bag.

"Don't even worry about it." Camus chuckled, "After the stunts you pulled, hell, we can even settle down here." he wrote down Raguna's exploits in his small book.

"Good." Raguna muttered, then saw the beautiful red haired woman from before come out of the clinic, "Well hello." he became instantly distracted.

"Go easy on her." Camus commented, "She's part of the church."

Instantly, Raguna grimaced, then only stood to admire the young woman.

"Ah ha... Gotcha." Camus smirked and turned to Raguna, "At least you have some form of respect."

"There's somethings that I dare not tread against." Raguna muttered, then turned back to Camus, "And knowing my life, I would try to kiss up to any deity." he grumbled.

"HYAH!" some voices yelled, and the galloping of horses sounded throughout the town, causing some of the villagers outside to turn and see.

Arriving was a small group of Sechs soldiers, identified by their banner, escorted by some Noradian border guards. This was quite a shock to everyone since it was getting late in the day, and the border usually gets shut down at evening time.

"Hyah!" the main Sechs soldier leading the way stopped his steed, and his subordinates stopped with him.

"Hmm..." Raguna mumbled as the foreigners got off their monsters and walked towards him.

"Bounty Hunter!" the Sechs knight said, "My name is Cornelius Gayum of the Sechs 5th Border Cohort." he pulled out a scroll, "We'd like to thank you for capturing the deserter- and completing our job for us." he chuckled.

"No problem." Raguna bluntly said as he saw the other knights go around him.

"As of this moment we have sent a letter to Commander Lynette of the Sechs 4th Southern Legion." the main knight said, "She may give you an extra bonus, Bounty Hunter." he mumbled.

"We have heard that you currently reside in the city of Serrona." another knight came up, "Your fame is widespread throughout our empire." he informed.

The main knight looked at the Noradian border guards around him, "May I have a drink with you?" he asked the bounty hunter lowly.

"Very well." Raguna nodded, "But my partner must be there too." he patted Camus's back.

"Right... as you wish." the knight said, "We're going to have a quick drink." he told his entourage.

00000000

"What is it you need?" Raguna asked as the three shared a bottle of mead, the sky was darkening outside and the main source of light was now the interior of the tavern.

"I have been sent, besides to congratulate you, to serve the Emperor on an important mission." the knight said and pulled out a sealed scroll.

"What is it?" Camus asked as he grabbed the scroll and saw the seal.

LEGIO AUSTRALI XI

"Commander Sirach wants a special duty to be done for him." the knight said, "A political enemy has used an assassin to kill his younger brother, and he wants you to capture both of them... dead or alive." he informed and saw as Camus opened the scroll.

"What's the price?" Raguna went straight to the point, "Let's speak coin."

"We will provide you with whatever you need- maps, weapons, armor, anything." the knight muttered, "And the Commander himself, as well as the Crown, will regard you greatly."

"Amount?"

"750,000 Coin." the knight informed, then saw Raguna scowl, "For each head." he added, which made the bounty hunter's eyes open in interest.

"I think this is a good deal." Camus commented, "We were just about to return to the Sechs Empire... this was just our little rest." he looked at the scroll, "And I see we don't know the Political Enemy or the Assassin." he saw that there was no information given.

"We have reason to believe that they may have worked together in the past." Cornelius spoke, "We have our top minds looking for the-"

"Matter over Mind." Raguna stood up, "The sword is mightier than the pen." he extended his hand, "And you sir, will get your result- for the price given."

"The Empire will reward you greatly." Cornelius stood and shook his hand, "We can escort you back to the Sechs border by tonight if you wish."

"Sounds like a deal." Camus nodded, "I'll go get our things."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed these two new chapters!  
Please Review!  
The Plot Thickens!**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Earth's Bounty  
Chapter 7**

* * *

The squad of men rode down the dirt road leading to the Secho-Noradian Border, veiled by the incoming darkness and shrouded by the dust they were picking up.

"Is this your first assignment with the crown?" Cornelius asked as he rode next to Raguna and Buffomave, "Or have you acquianted some other time?"

"We've crossed paths before." Raguna answered, "The Empire is one of my favorite clients... they pay lavishly." he chuckled.

"Well, you are the most famous bounty hunter on the continent." Cornelius spoke, "I heard you were contracted way up north in Roland even."

"Nah, that was just Raguna being a philanderer." Camus scoffed, causing his ally to roll his eyes, "Or was it a real mission, I could never tell them apart." he joked.

The entourage was nearing the border, and the Sechs guards that were looking forward to their arrival waved at them and opened the gate. It was at this time the Noradian envoys sent with them departed to a nearby border camp, leaving them as a pure Sechs force.

"Hyah!" Cornelius slowed down and looked at the border guards, "Special return pass from the Empire." he showed a scroll to them.

The guards stepped aside and let them in.

00000000

"There's everything you need to work." Cornelius opened up the small cabin that was to house his guests, "The outhouse is at the far right end of the camp and there's a river nearby where you can bathe." he said, "Make the Empire proud." he clenched his fist and closed the door.

"This Sechs camp is better than any I've seen." Camus looked at the serene interior, complete with a stone fireplace and fluffy beds.

"I guess the biggest slice of the military budget must go to protecting the border with Norad." Raguna saw the vast amount of scrolls and papers laid out across the table, "Looks like we have our work planned out for us." he sighed and walked to the table.

"I'll get to it." Camus ran up to the papers and started to look through them, "I was always the brain." he chuckled as he scanned maps and papers rapidly.

"I wouldn't deny it." Raguna sat down on a wooden chair and saw Camus look at the logistics, "Say, Camus..." he looked up to the wooden roof, "Do you ever think about settling down?" he asked.

"That's a funny thing to hear you say." Camus chortled, "Knowing you're as wild as the wind." he moved aside a scroll, "Why would you say that?"

"Because... I don't know." Raguna grumbled, "I guess the mead gets me all emotional." he chuckled, "Damn, I should stop drinking."

"Please don't." Camus commented, "It's the only thing that keeps you from killing or philandering." he said.

"Ha ha..." Raguna rolled his eyes, "Don't lie, my killing has gotten us some lavish cash. And my philandering has gotten us some beautiful dames." he put his feet up on the table.

"I wouldn't deny it." Camus chuckled, "You do have a taste for women..." he groaned, "It might take me the whole night to do this!"

"I'll help you, let me just take this off." Raguna muttered as he started to remove his armor and weapons.

"Now, I can't say I haven't thought about settling down." Camus said out of the blue, catching the Bounty Hunter's ear, "But that was a long time ago."

"Hmm?" Raguna turned as he placed his helmet on a cupboard, "Why do you say that?"

"Well let's just say I had a special lass of my own." Camus became serious, his jovial mood dying with the light outside, "Unfortunately, that lass is no longer here."

"Ah, let her go!" Raguna joked, "She rejected you, so wha-"

"Actually, she died." Camus interjected, causing Raguna to also lose his jovial mood.

"Oh... is this why you left Kardia?" Raguna asked, "I remember now, you told me."

"Good." Camus nodded, "Now I won't have to pain myself in reminding you." he grumbled, then moved aside a map.

"There there." Raguna walked up to his friend, "It's alright, I'm here." he patted his back, "Heck, we're both tainted men- destroyed by our pasts but living in the present." he looked up, "I share your grief."

"Good, now we can share this." Camus said and passed a whole box of papers to Raguna.

"Ah..." Raguna groaned as he saw the work ahead of him.

00000000

Cornelius entered the cabin, only to find the two young men completely knocked out on the table, the papers in complete chaos.

"Huah..." Raguna groaned as the light of the morning sun shot through the open door and struck his face, "Huh?" he shot up in alert and looked at Cornelius.

"At ease." the knight said and becalmed the bounty hunter, "I was just wondering what was taking so long for you to arise." he muttered.

"Apologies." Raguna mumbled, "We were up all night trying to finish this.. And we got your man." he told the knight, who's bushy eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Really now?" Cornelius walked up, waking up Camus in the process.

"Agh..." Camus groaned as he rubbed his eyes, "Ah!" he was startled by the knight's presence, "Hello." he stood up.

"What did you find?" Cornelius asked, "Or are you still figuring it out?"

"No no." Camus responded, "We found him." he said and pulled up a paper, "Our conclusions led us to a General Cayrsa."

"Impossible." Cornelius said, "Cayrsa is under Lynette in the 4th Southern Legion... could a subordinate plot against his superior?" he grumbled.

"It seems this was the case." Camus said, "Quick records showed us that envy was the motivation here..." he pulled up more papers, "Unlike Cayrsa, Sirach took all the positions and promotions that the former desired." he said, "And even took the man's wife after a divorce."

"We also have many records of him abruptly leaving his post at the town of Lert." Camus added, "Which is coincidentally-"  
"The same town Sirach's brother and another general were killed." the two said in unison.

"Simple intuition paves the way after that." Camus told himself proudly, "Now we should go get him." he said.

"And we have just the plan." Raguna finally spoke and pulled out a small poster, which announced a ball that was to be held in the city of Resina.

"The Prefect of the province will be there, as well as the Emperor's son." Cornelius spoke, "If that man gets in there with his assassin, a member of the royal bloodline could be at risk!" he gasped.

"How long will it take us to get to Resina?" asked Camus as he looked at a map of the Sechs Empire, showing that the town was around the Southeastern corner of the domain.

"It's 2 days from the capital, 4 days from us."

"The ball is in six days." Raguna spoke, "We'd best get ready."

"Shouldn't we send a messenger-"

"Not enough time." Camus spoke, "The nearest messenger is in the town of Risa, a day's walk away, and five days from Resina."

"Well, I should go with you." Cornelius said, "I am a Colonel in the ranks, I can get you in with the signed letter here." he pulled out the imperial scroll.

"Very well." Raguna nodded.

"Unfortunately I do not think I can take your friend." the knight looked at Camus, "A commoner in a high class party, they may mistake him for the assassin once the word gets out. I do not wish to see him get harmed."

"I'll stay here and wait for you." Camus said, "You can go, you don't need me anyways." he chuckled.

00000000

"HYAH!" Raguna and Cornelius rode their respective beasts out of the camp and into the long road ahead.

00

"NYAH!" Cornelius's horse neighed as it tried to avoid a dense bush in the path through the forest.

00

The sun set over Raguna and Cornelius's small camp out by the dry praire of the Sechs Empire.

 **00000000**

"I need you to do something for me." a shady figure asked a bounty hunter inside the tavern that Raguna frequented.

"For the right cash I'll do it." the gruff dwarf spat in a cup and looked at the man.

"I want to kill Raguna Fetth."

The bounty hunters all turned to face the cloaked figure, then put on solid faces.

"Are you nuts?!" the dwarf yelled, "You trying to get me killed!?"

"Better to be killed than lose your honor." the figure spoke, "Every day that Raguna is alive, the less money you all make. Eventually, you will all rot away being nothing but meat and alcohol." he spoke, striking a cord.

"Why y-"  
"Let's hear him out!" a bounty hunter held back his hostile friend.

"Raguna Fetth is the only one with the glory and the honor, all of you are just the last option." the cloaked man continued, "Why live in the shadow of just one man?"

"Why not end him here?"

* * *

 **SM's Time  
**

 **Response to Reviewer Yoshifumi- Greetings! I hope you had a blessed week, and I am doing this to examine your recent review you made. Due to its quite troubling nature I decided to bring this up. You recently wrote the following:  
** ** _"You bring dishonor to my franchise jerk. It seems Rune Factory 5 is screwed because of this abomination."_  
Now I want to say this, this 'review' is very divisive. First of all, this has the 'begging the question fallacy' all over it. What is this thing that's bring this 'dishonor'? Why is my story an 'abomination'? You never truly explain this reason and really just go for the ad hominem attack by calling me a 'jerk'. Despite you never telling me what is so bad about this fic, you complain and call me names without stating what I can fix. You know I am always open eared to any suggestions, but you never state anything.  
Due to this, I can only assume the following:  
1\. You are upset about the violence, sex, etc.- Well I clearly put a disclaimer in the beginning before anything serious happened, so I did my part, you needed not go on.  
2\. You are upset about the characters' actions- All characters will be explained with the progression of the story. And if this was a problem, why did you not state it?**

 **Now about your little dishonor and RF5 is screwed comments. If you think I'm dishonoring this franchise with a serious, realistic story that details human conflicts and actions, why not look at what I've done for the franchise? I made a fan Rune Factory World Map, perhaps the first one ever. I also provide much information on the Rune Factory Wiki and am in the top Contributor's list there. For the Rune Factory 5 is screwed bit... Do you really think the professional game makers in Japan, which is 10,000+ KM away from my home country, are going to care about what I write? How do you even know RF5 is going to contain Raguna and the characters from RF1 and RFF?**  
 **Please, next time when you review, tell me what's wrong, I will do all I can to fix it in appropriate standing with the plot.. Thank you and have a blessed day. :)**

 **Now another thing, I know the review board has gotten a rise of RP characters (Brodik, Han Solo), but can you all please stop? I usually allow them for a casual story but this is a serious tale... I hope you understand when I ask for constructive reviews. But for this time...  
For Reviewer Han Solo- 'Eating (insert female here)' is a very vulgar term used to refer to a sexual act that I will not explain here. Anywho, it was used to show Raguna's brashness.  
For Reviewer Brodik- What?  
Please guys, refrain from these RP reviews... Thanks :)**

 **Anywho, please REVIEW AND HAVE A BLESSED DAY**!


	8. Chapter 8

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter 8**

* * *

"What's the plan?" Cornelius asked as Raguna paced around the Inn room they rented out, "The ball is tomorrow, what will you do?"

"First I need to identify the general and possibly his accomplice." Raguna put on his gauntlets, "He may not bring his assassin, but since there will be such high ranking officials, we should be very cautious."

"I told the local armory to supply you with anything you need." the knight spoke, "You should visit them now, but stay alert." he warned.

00000000

Raguna walked down the busy city streets, which were jam packed with soldiers due to the important ceremony on the way.

Few people recognized him, though that was because many of them were too busy to even notice. The people that did, however, were caught staring at him for many seconds.

The bounty hunter stepped into the Imperial Armory, where he was greeted with a plethora of soldiers relaxing inside.

"Hey." one of the soldiers stood up, "That's the Runemate!" he exclaimed, and his comrades turned to face the man.

"Bounty hunter!" another soldier yelled, "Hey! We got a bounty hunter in here!" he laughed and clapped.

"Hmph." Raguna grunted and walked straight up to the desk, where the woman behind the counter looked at him.

"What do you need?" the elf asked him, "Or are you just here to stir up trouble?"

"I need a 10 mm crossbow bolt." Raguna told her, "Make that 20." he added, "And I need a new gladius." he brought out the old one he used, which was now chipped.

"Do you want mustard with that?" the elf scoffed and walked to the back of the armory.

At that moment, the door opened, and all the soldiers became like statues. This action caught Raguna off guard, but he decided to ignore it.

"Uh oh..." a soldier mumbled lowly as heavy footsteps sounded on the wooden floor.

"Well I'll be." a feminine voice sounded, "Looks like one of my soldiers doesn't know his p-" the voice paused, causing Raguna to turn.

It was a young woman, around Raguna's height. Pink hair cut to the base of the neck, strong arms, and a menacing eyepatch where the main features of this woman's body, as well as her stout body that had rugged curves, and the fact that here clothing was more ceremonial that what was typically seen in the battlefield.

"Well I'll be." the woman said, "If it isn't the most feared bounty hunter on the continent..." she looked at Raguna, "What do they call you again? The Runemate?" she asked.

"The name's Raguna Fetth." Raguna spoke and received his bolts from the elf, "Pleasure to meet you." he looked at her.

"I'm surprised you haven't saluted me." the woman said, "But bounty hunters are to brutish to understand such a complicated hierarchy- I am Commander Lynette." she said and grabbed Raguna by the collar, but the bounty hunter smacked her hand away.

Some nearby soldiers gasped.

"So you want to play hardass." Lynette grunted and glared at Raguna with a stare that could bring down the most hardened soldier, "Hmm... looks like you're still on your feet."

"I don't bow to anyone." Raguna grumbled, "And I'm not a hardass... But I can be many other things for you." he smirked.

"You have some nerve." Lynette growled, "The Sechs Legions could use a strong man like you." she smiled.

"Sorry, but I prefer to work alone." Raguna pushed her aside, causing the entire room to gasp.

"You!" Lynette roared and pulled out her rapier, but was then struck by two bolts that pinned her cape to the counter.

The soldiers were about to horde hack Raguna, but saw that Lynette was alive, disabled, but alive.

"Ah... AH..." Lynette stammered and tried to unpin herself from the counter, then saw Raguna near her.

The soldiers surrounding were extremely tense.

"Guess what..." Raguna whispered into her ear, "I missed."

Lynette's eyes shot open.

"But I wouldn't dare hit a pretty face like yours." the bounty hunter smirked, stepped back, and walked out, the soldiers parting the way before him.

 **00000000**

The town Praetorium was filled with soldiers and various kinds of Sechs nobles entering its lavishly decorated walls. The Prefect of Resina's Province wanted to decorate his administrative capital to welcome the member of the royal family that would be housed beneath his roof.

"Stop right there!" an imperial praetorian told Raguna and Cornelius, "You two are no-"

"Official order on behalf of the crown of Ethelbert the Great." Cornelius opened the imperial scroll, causing the praetorian to review it carefully.

Another guard came up and also inspected it, and after a few moments, the two stepped aside.

00000000

The inside of the building was even more adorned than the outside, with large flowers, statues of monsters, and even a miniature garden inside. The main hall was filled to the walls with nobles, military officials, and the occasional servant.

"I should have brought my formal clothes." Raguna muttered as he looked at his armor, then saw that, save for the praetorians, he was the only one wearing such items.

"You're on a mission." Cornelius muttered, then scanned the masses for any glimpse of the general, "I'll tell you if I spot him, so stay close to me."

00000000

"Sir." a cloaked man walked up to an official in one of the secluded libraries of the building, "Word around the town has it that the bounty hunter Raguna Fetth is in this area."

"A minor setback." General Cayrsa spoke, "I doubt he would be looking for us. Just go and dump this into the prince's drink." he gave the man a clear flask, "And into the drink of the prefect as well... the dishonor they gave me is unforgivable!" he clenched his fist.

"Will do, sir." the man spoke and bowed, then grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows and walked off down an empty hall.

00000000

"Have you seen him yet?" Raguna said with growing impatience, "I'm getting tired of all these damn people." he pushed a noble aside.

"No... I'm having the same problem you are!" Cornelius responded as he tried looking over a servant, "If only I could-" he was stopped when a group of young ladies pushed him away, "Raguna!"

"What the-" Raguna turned to see he had lost Cornelius in the huddled masses, "Co-" he was grabbed by his black cape.

"Well hello there." Lynette turned him around, "I didn't think I'd see someone like you here..." she mumbled, "What's a bounty hunter doing in this fancy place?"

"I have something to do here..." Raguna responded, "Do not interfere with my mission." he tried to push her aside, but she was resisting.

00

"Raguna!" Cornelius tried to look for his ally, "Rag-" he stopped when he saw General Cayrsa walk into the hall, nearing the designated area for the military officials, "Raguna!" he called out.

00

"I need to go!" Raguna growled, "Let me go, woman!" he tried to shake Lynette off.

"My my... such a strong man you are." Lynette brought him closer, "Perhaps I may ask more about the man behind the helm..."

"Not at this moment..." Raguna snarled, "But another time, I would gladly let you see all of me..." he smirked, then tried to push her away.

Suddenly, the crowds cleared as the small orchestra by the indoor garden started to play a lively tune, one that called for a dance.

Unfortunately, these two were right in the center of the clearing, causing many eyes to turn on them.

00

"Hmm?" General Cayrsa looked to the clearing and saw Raguna, "Oh!" he gasped, "He's here! I can't believe it!" he growled to himself, then caught sight of his assassin sneaking by the eastern wall.

"Kill him!" he mouthed to his underling, who saw him and then saw Raguna, and then nodded.

00

"Is that Commander Lynette?" a military official asked another as they saw the woman on the dance floor, "Who is she with?"

"I think that's the bounty hunter Raguna Fetth." the woman responded to him, "What is he doing here!?" she asked.

00

Raguna looked around at all the nobles that were staring back at him, then he looked at Lynette.

"What are you going to do, bounty hunter?" Lynette taunted him, "Not so strong now... People are your weakness."

"Hmph." Raguna grunted, stepped back and bowed, then extended his hand, "May I have this dance?" he asked.

The nobles gasped and clapped at the man's brave action.

"For a hardass, you really are sweet." Lynette mumbled, then seemed to reject his offer, "But very well." she grabbed his hand, "I hope you know how to dance."

"I do not, but I'll learn." Raguna nodded, then followed Lynette foot by foot.

00

"I got him..." Cornelius closed in to an unsuspecting Cayrsa, only to look away and see the assassin stand on a balcony and aim his bow at Raguna. "No... RAGUNA!" he yelled.

"huh?"

"Look!" the knight pointed to the assassin, which made everyone in the room turn as well.

TLING! The assassin shot his arrow, intending to kill Raguna in the moment.

"Get down!" Raguna pushed down Lynette and took the brunt of the arrow to his chest, "AGH!" he groaned, then saw the assassin prepare another arrow.

"Get him!" Cornelius pointed to Cayrsa, "He's the conspirator!" he told the praetorians, who ran to grab the fleeing Cayrsa.

"DAMN IT!" General Cayrsa yelled and stared at the Prince and the Prefect, "You could have died if that bastard wasn't here!" he screamed as the guards dragged him out.

"Hmph!" Raguna growled and used his flying pack to fly up to the balcony, "I'll get you!" he aimed his crossbow at the assassin, then fired his bolts midair.

"Agh!" The assassin hid behind a column, then popped out to shot another arrow.

"Ha!" Raguna scoffed as he avoided it and then used that opportunity to land on the balcony, "Game's over." he told the assassin.

"Not yet." the assassin said, stood on the ledge, then jumped down.

"Grr!" Raguna growled as he saw the man roll on the ground and recover, then he aimed his bow and shot back.

TLING! The arrow bounced off the marble behind Raguna.

"You won't get away." Raguna removed the arrow he had received to his chest armor, then aimed his crossbow.

"GAH!" the assassin's cloak was snagged by the bolt sticking to the ground, "AH!" he fell to the ground.

"I got him!" Lynette took out her rapier and placed it on the man's neck, "By order of the Empire, I have captured you!" she yelled, "Your attempted manslaughter will be punished!"

00000000

"Thank you." the Prefect told Raguna and Cornelius as the guest of the ball clapped their hands, "You have unraveled the plot to not only take my life, but the life of Prince Erberd as well."

"I thank you, Bounty Hunter." Prince Erberd said, "I will put a good word in for you to my father." he added, "The Empire will reward you greatly for this."

"I was just doing my job." Raguna responded, "I never fail my contracts..."

"Well, I wish to give you a gift." Prince Erberd said, "Anything! Even my horse!"

"Well, there is one thing I do want..." Raguna mumbled and looked at the commander next to him.

 **00000000**

"Oh! You strong, virile man!" Lynette moaned as Raguna overcame her with ecstasy, "Oh! I love the man behind the helm!" she growled and flipped the Bounty Hunter over.

"There's more where that came from..." Raguna panted as he lifted Lynette off the bed and sat her down, "I'm the strongest man you'll ever meet..." he mumbled as he continued his act.

"If you were a strong man, you would have tamed me by now..." Lynette growled as she clawed Raguna's bare back with her nails, "But... you're... so close!" she cried, "Treat me like one of your contracts!"

00000000

"Hmm..." Lynette opened her eyes when the sun struck them, then saw Raguna fast asleep beside her, "Well, looks like he's still here." she said to herself and then sat up.

After a stretch, the young woman removed the blanket that covered her and then grabbed her undergarments, clothing herself rapidly with the most basic necessities.

"Ha!" Lynette tightened her little corset, then saw Raguna's bag at the foot of the bed, "Well." she let the curiosity get to her and walked towards it.

The commander grabbed the bag and opened it, then saw some rudimentary materials inside. Such things were so distasteful to her curiosity that she almost shut the bag and threw it aside, but that was stopped by the fact that there was something out of place.

In one of the interior pockets was a small doll, a little faery monster with blue hair and a pink dress. It looked worn by the looks of its arms and face, but other than that it still seemed operational.

"What in the.." Lynette grabbed the doll and looked at did, "Does he have a daughter? Is he married?" she looked back at him and gasped, "What if he is?!" she growled and snatched the blanket off.

Raguna grimaced in displeasure, then rolled over once, then again, then finally growled and woke up, "Why is it so col-" he looked as Lynette stood with arms crossed, "What are yo-" he noticed his bag was open.

"So Mr. Hardass..." Lynette grumbled, "Didn't mind telling me that you're married?" she threw the blanket on the table.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Raguna sat up and rolled over, then put on his pants (he was wearing his underbritches), "Why are you going through my-"

"This isn't about that!" Lynette said, "You have daughter? Does she look like your wife or what!?" she showed him the doll.

"Give me that!" Raguna snatched the doll from her hand forcefully, "Don't go through my items!" he yelled and hid the doll back in there, "What the hell got into you!?"

"Into me!? How about into you!?" Lynette pushed him back, "Deflowering me and you're already married!"

"I am not married!" Raguna responded, "Stupid... Does it look like I'm the type of man to be married?" he scoffed and put on his outer garments, "I would make the world's most terrible spouse."

"I can already see that." Lynette grabbed her clothing, "But why do you even have a doll to begin with?"

"That is none of your affair." Raguna grumbled and looked at himself in the mirror.

 **00000000**

"Ah... Ah..." Raguna stammered as he visited the charred ruins of the farmer's family, what was once a cottage now was a burning ruin of desolation.

The walls had stood mostly intact, since they were made of stone, but they were scorched and deep black like a cave. Everything else was consumed, save for few charred thick pieces of wood, which were too large for the fire to finish consuming.

The young man entered through one of the fallen walls, ending up in the smallest room in the house. There, he saw the only thing standing in that room was a horribly disfigured dresser, black from soot and scorch. His inspection brought up that the contents inside were mostly clothing articles that were burned beyond repair, but at the center of the furniture was one item that had survived the flames.

A small faery doll.

Raguna cried, for he knew this was the doll of the farmer's daughter, and finally saw that his legs fell to his weight in angst.

Biting his bottom lip, Raguna sobbed, then saw a puddle on the ground where he could see his face...

 **00000000**

Raguna zoned back into reality and recognized that it was only his reflection in the mirror the thing that he was seeing.

"A coin for your thoughts?" Lynette asked, quite concerned of his space out, "Or are you trying to think of an excuse for yourself."

"It's... nothing..." Raguna sighed, then turned to face her, "I-"

Suddenly, a military official burst through the door, startling the two inhabitants.

"Commander Lynette! We need you!" the official said.

"What for?" responded Lynette.

"Prince Erberd has been attacked on his way to the capital!" the official informed, causing a shock to strike the two people.

* * *

 **SM's Time-**

 **For Reviewer 'Yoshifumi': I finally caught on, little did I know you were RPing as RFF director Yoshifumi... Unfortunately, I am not a lemony kind of guy (but here was a tame lemon ironically...) or too violent (maybe to an extent...) so your request for 'hentai and gore on every chapter' will not be able to be done. Now for your 'villains aren't evil enough' bit... To be honest, I really don't think this story has a set antagonist... but you'll see an antagonistic force later! Now I appreciate you RPing as the man, but... eh... I made it kinda clear last time that I want that stopped... But you can still use the name and not act like the producer and still review. Anywho, have a blessed day! :)**

 **For Reviewer Sambo: Unfortunately I already had a story where Lynette and Raguna were the main characters so I don't want to overdo it... I apologize for that. But Lynette did play a big role (huehuehuehue wink wink) in this part. Thank you and have a blessed day.**

 **THANKS AND PLEASE REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter 9**

* * *

"What the hell happened!?" a Sechs commander yelled as Lynette and Raguna arrived to the scene of a destroyed carriage and slain soldiers.

Prince Erberd, the Emperor's firstborn, was nowhere to be found, and thus caused a panic to be felt around the area.

"We were traveling down the road." a soldier reported to that commander, "But then suddenly the driver made this abrupt turn that led us down this country road... and we were ambushed."

"Commander Lyian!" Lynette jumped off her horse and saluted the elder, "What-"

"Someone has kidnapped the Lord Prince Erberd." the old man said, "Witnesses say that the carriage driver departed from the Emperor's Highway and drove into an ambush here." he stroked his peppered beard.

"This must mean the carriage driver was in on the plot." one of the generals spoke, "A faithful one would never take a Royal Family member down such secluded avenues..."

"Plus, we did not find the body of the carriage driver among the massacre." Lyian spoke, "We have reason to believe that Prince Erberd is still alive, several survivors overheard that they were taking him to the capital... for a … public execution."

Lynette gasped, and Raguna's eyes opened in surprise.

"They're going to kill the Emperor's son...at the capital?" Raguna asked, "That's either the stupidest thing to do, or the most monumental..." he muttered.

"We need to get there before they do." Commander Lyian said, "We must get there by night fall!"

"Aye, sir!" Lynette saluted, then turned to Raguna, "How about one last dance?" she said.

"For the right price, I'm in." Raguna muttered, getting a gruff grunt from Lyian.

"Bounty Hunters... their heads are so far into their wallets that all they see is gold." the commander grumbled, "We'll talk about booty after we stop whoever did this... and that is if you stop them." he mounted his steed and rode off with his band of soldiers.

"Come on, hardass." Lynette grunted and jumped on her horse, then rode off with her squadron.

00000000

"So this is the capital city..." Raguna said as they reviewed logistics inside one of the capital's praetoriums, looking at a full layout of Sechia, "It's bigger than I thought it would be... Then again, I've never been to the capital."

"The Imperial Palace is right here." Lynette pointed to the center of the city, "And the Imperial Square is right in front of it, and the Palace has a clear view on it."

"Clear view, ready to receive... perfect place for an execution." Raguna told her, "At least, if I was doing it." he chuckled.

"If that is the case, I'll throw every guard we have into there! I'll even notify the Dragoon Cohort." a commander spoke and slammed the table.

"That is not a very wise thing to do." Commander Lyian commented, "They may kill the Prince faster... Has anyone notified the Emperor!?" he asked the commanders and officials around him.

"The Emperor has been informed, he will grace us with his presence shortly." another commander responded, "We should tell him to keep this under cloaks and shadows."

"We will." Lynette told him, "Now, how many did you say there were?" she asked a survivor, a simple soldier.

"Around 50 of them." the soldier responded, "all of them wearing black cloaks... I heard them say they would kill the Lord Prince the day after they caught him." he informed.

Commander Lyian was about to ask something else when a group of Imperial Dragoons opened the door of the planning room. Instantly, all of the military officials knelt, leaving Raguna dumbstruck.

"Kneel!" Lynette growled to him, then punched the bounty hunter's shin.

"Ah" Raguna gasped when he saw the Emperor himself walk in, surrounded by the Imperial Dragoons.

"Kneel for the Emperor!" one of the Dragoons said, and the monarch raised his hand shortly thereafter, allowing the officials to stand.

"So... that's the Emperor..." Raguna saw as the Sechs Emperor, visibly angry and troubled, walked towards the planning table.

"Do you have anything?!" the Emperor growled, "I want to know what slimy, rotten bastards took my firstborn son." he clenched his fists, "I wish to burn them at the stake myself!"

"Lord Ethelbert the Great, live forever!" Commander Lyian beat his chest, "Rest assured we are doing the best job to ensure the Lord Prince will return to the palace safely, and that these treasonous scum will get the penance they deserve!"

"Good, what do you have?" Ethelbert looked at the information ahead of him, "tell me when and where they will strike, so I myself will see them suffer."

"Lord Ethelbert!" Lynette bowed, "We have made a hypothesis that the most likely target for this terrorist attack will be at the Imperial Square... right in front of your palace."

"They have already stated, via witness reports, that they want to execute the Lord Prince where it will hurt the Royal Family the most." another commander spoke, "The large space and the closeness to the Palace make the Square a great area to fulfill this execution."

"I will deploy all the Dragoons in that area then." Ethelbert growled and gnashed his teeth, "I will see them blown to bits!"

"Lord Ethelbert!" Commander Lyian spoke, "We have thought of it as not wise to put such a large military prese-"

"Why not?" the Emperor grumbled lowly and started to crush a paper in his hand.

"B-B-Because- s-s-sire..." Lyian stammered.

"Because an increased presence of soldiers will make whatever bastards behind this plot jumpy and willing to kill the Prince faster." Raguna bluntly said, causing the Emperor to turn to him.

"Hm..." Ethelbert stroked his beard and looked at the young man, "Is this... Is this... Ah, I know who you are." he walked up to Raguna.

"I may be able to help you. I am Raguna Fetth." Raguna muttered as he felt the Emperor's strong presence get nearer.

"Well, you certainly know your stuff." Ethelbert inspected the bounty hunter, "And that straight to the point attitude serves nicely... Plus, you have served the Empire well."

"I do my services well, for the right coin." Raguna bluntly responded, "And I never fail my contracts."

"Yes, I've heard." Ethelbert said, "Lynette, what do you think of this young man?" he asked the commander, catching her off guard.

"I-I-I..." Lynette stammered, "I think he is just a money grabbing bounty hunter, sire." she responded.

"Aye, he is." Ethelbert said, "But he is a damn good one... You should marry this man." he commented, "He suits your personality."

"Sire, he's a hardass, sire." Lynette added.

"But I thought you liked the hard ass in the bed." Raguna told her, causing the commanders to gasp and to react strongly.

Lynette's eyes shot open and she turned red.

"He's something, alright." Ethelbert chuckled, then turned back to Raguna, "Since you already have such... cough... closeness with my officials, perhaps I should allow you to help." he muttered, "If you should save my son, you have the imperial treasury at your bargain... but if you fail to save him, I shall raise you up to the sky and roast you alive."

"Challenge accepted." Raguna put on his helmet, "I will not fail you, sire." he said.

"I hope not..." Ethelbert grumbled.

00

"So... it seems you don't hate bounty hunters after all." Commander Lyian taunted Lynette, causing the other generals to laugh.

"I hate that-" Lynette gnashed her teeth as she put up the maps of the city.

* * *

 **SM'S TIME-  
PLEASE REVIEW! HOPE YOU ENJOY!**


	10. Chapter 10

**The Earth's Bounty  
Chapter 10**

* * *

"Hwagh!" an Imperial Court guard was struck by an arrow, alerting the nearby guards and frightening some civilains.

"He- AGH!" another guard was struck by a man in a black cloak, then was pushed to the ground.

The black coated people, around 40 in number, then stormed the Imperial Square, causing mass panic when the wagon they brought exploded.

Several civilians and guards alike were wounded or killed by the bombing, but out of the smoke ran out more guards ready to defend.

"YAH!" a cloakman yelled as he was stabbed by a guard's spear.

However, despite valiant efforts, the deeply confused and disoriented guards fell back to the more thoroughly organized cloaked assailants.

"Let it in!" the head of the cloaked people, one with a white and red cloak, told his fellow comrades, and a regal carriage was brought into the square.

Once in place, the cloakmen opened the vehicle, and then Prince Erberd was dragged out of it, accompanied by a masked figure holding a large axe.

"Ethelbert!" the leader yelled to the palace, watched on by horrified civilians and wounded guardsmen, "Here, we few people defy you! We defy the most powerful ruler in the world!" he called to his men, who brought the bound Prince over. "All this power! All this military! All this dominion! And you still cannot defend your own son!" he removed the sack on Erberd's head, causing the masses to gasp.

"Agh..." Erbered groaned, completely disoriented, then looked up to the leader, "I'll never surrender..."

"You won't have to." the cloaked leader said, then told the executioner to come forward, "Behold! The sins of the father will burden the son!" he cackled.

The executioner nodded, then raised his axe as the Lord Prince was knelt on a block of wood, "HRAH!" he yelled, "AHH- GWAH!" he was struck in the chest by a bolt and knocked down.

"What!?" the head of the cloakmen gasped, then saw Raguna fly in and dive kick the cloakman that was holding Erberd.

"Sorry to ruin the surprise." Raguna said and shot two more cloakmen, "But you have a pretty pence on your head." he smirked and grabbed the sword of a cloakman trying to hack him.

"Why you-" the leader growled, "Damn bounty hunter!" he pulled out a dagger and went for the Lord Prince, "You still fai-"

POOM! A gunshot was heard, and a heavy lead ball struck the leader in the head.

"HAH!" some Imperial Dragoons, hiding in the nearby trees, jumped down and charged at the men.

"Get them off me!" Raguna growled as he was being overwhelmed by the cloakmen, "I need a breather!" he flew up, kicking one of his foes off of him midair.

However, it was this act that let him see a separate carriage going towards the palace.

"Watch ou-"

KAPPOOOM! The runaway carriage exploded, busting one of the gates, allowing more cloakmen to storm into the palace.

"Hrreh... I won't get paid if he dies..." Raguna muttered and blasted off towards the palace.

"We got the Lord Prince!" a Dragoon soldier said as his squad surrounded Erberd, "Reinforcements at the Palace!"

00000000

"HAA!" Imperial guards clashed with cloakmen in the main lobby, but the explosion had weakened their morale and their senses, so they were slowly being pushed back.

KAPOOM! Another explosion busted a hole into the left wall, then more cloakmen stormed in.

KLASH! One of the windows was broken when Raguna flew in.

"It seems I got my work cut out for me." the bounty hunter grumbled and shot an archer that was aiming from the balcony, "I better be paid extra for this." he flew and landed on the balcony, then shot another cloakman.

"HA!" a cloakman ran to strike him with his spear, but Raguna kicked the weapon aside and then karate chopped the man in the neck, causing him to launch right off the portico and into the floor below.

"Amateurs..." Raguna grunted, then saw a lone cloak man run into a secluded hallway, "He can't be up to good.." he commented, then ran and reloaded his crossbow in the process.

00000000

"The Bounty Hunter Raguna Fetth has been sighted in your area." the cloaked man saw a magical projection on a rune book, one of an elf woman, "Be careful."

"Hmph..." the man grunted and closed the magic book, "I would like to see him try." he muttered, then heard the calls of soldiers down the hall.

"Ethelbert, it isn't safe over here." a highly decorated man told the Emperor as they were guided down the hall with Lady Ethelbert and highly armed Imperial Dragoons, "I suggest we seek refuge immediately."

"Norbert, my brother." Ethelbert said, "Supreme Commander of all my forces... When in all my 50 years of reign have you seen me leave my throne for an outside force?" he asked the man.

"I'm just trying to be cautious, my brother." Norbert told him, "The palace under attack can be a serious threat to your life..."

"The Noradians once reached the foot of the Palace in the Great War." Ethelbert grumbled, "You know what happened to them when I decided to stay on my throne?" he asked, "You know what happened to them?"

"Yes, brother, but we had the whole army at hand during that moment." Norbert responded, "Right now we only have the palace guards and the Dragoons.

On top of the entourage, on the third floor, stood the cloaked man, who removed his cover and revealed himself to be a dark skinned man. His hair was cut short, and his left cheek had a scar, all while being covered on the chest by a dragon hide armor.

"Excellent..." the man said and pulled out his bow, then aimed at the Emperor.

"They have my son, Norbert!" Lady Ethelbert spoke, "I need to see him!"

"Ma'am, I think..." the Supreme Commander continued the conversation, unaware of the threat above them.

"There... fall into my tra- AGH!" the man was hit in the back by a strong force, and two bodies fell from the third floor.

THUD! The two people hit the ground behind Ethelbert's entourage, startling the group.

"Apologies for stepping in." Raguna chuckled as he pinned the man to the ground, "But it's all part of the business."

"At ease." Ethelbert told the Dragoons, who were aiming their handgonnes at the two men.

"Sire, I may have saved your life." Raguna stood up and picked the young assassin up, "Because this is Issas..." he showed the monarch his foe, "One of the Falcons of Sahranistan."

"I knew they would do this." Ethelbert clenched his fists, "Those damn sand dwellers are not even thankful for letting them rule independently..."

"Hahahaha..." Issas spoke, "This is not about my country, Ethelbert." he chuckled, "It is not they who want you dead."

"Who is it then?" Raguna tightened his grip, "Speak and I may let you live... Though the Emperor might find that idea debatable." he laughed.

"As if he doesn't know..." Issas scoffed, "You know who wants you dead... Emperor..." he said, and was pushed forward by the bounty hunter.

Some Dragoons went forward and seized the man.

"Be careful... Runemate." Issas told Raguna, "My brother will come for you." he cackled as he was being carried off.

"I wish Afars will try..." Raguna scoffed, then looked at the Emperor.

 **00000000**

"And I give you this, Raguna Fetth." Norbert, the Supreme Commander of all Sechs Forces, said as he placed a ribbon on Raguna's neck in the presence of the Emperor himself, "For your valor and sacrifice in not only protecting the Lord Prince, but the The Lord Emperor Himself."

"My treasury is open to your bargain, Raguna." Ethelbert told him as he sat back on his throne, "Take what is reasonable to both parties."

"Very well." Raguna spoke, looked at the Emperor, then at Lady Ethelbert, then at the Lord Prince, "I believe a fair price is... 500,000,000 coin?" he asked.

"It shall be done." Ethelbert nodded, "And for your services to our country, I declare you a full naturalized citizen of the Sechs Empire. And... one other thing." he clapped his hands, and Commander Lynette stepped up.

"Hmm?" Raguna mumbled in surprise.

"I present to you a bride." Ethelbert said as he pointed at Lynette, "If you accept that is... I wish for your line to blend in to the one of the High Sechs Nobility, right, Lynette?"

"Sire!" Lynette bowed and saluted, "Anything you say is wise!"

"What do you say, bounty hunter?" Ethelbert asked, "Give up your life of a vagabond and join the Elites of Sechs society."

Raguna looked at the Emperor, and then to Lynette, "Sire... I deeply apologize." he spoke, "But my quest to stop those who have infringed the law is still not over..." he looked at Lynette, "And even though I find the Lord Emperor to have a brilliant suggestion of dames, I'm afraid I cannot wed until my mission is complete."

"And when will that be, Bounty Hunter?" Emperor Ethelbert asked.

"Until all of them are gone..." Raguna grumbled.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter 11**

* * *

Raguna fell to his knees when he received the news at the Sechs border station.

Someone had come to attack, and only one casualty.

The Bounty Hunter could not believe the name, he did not want to believe it, he wanted the news to be false. But the sight of the grave was what drove the truth into his mind, it was what finally broke him.

Under an oak tree by the nearby river was a single headstone, freshly dug ground, and wilted flowers.

00000000

Raguna rode towards Kardia on Buffomave- exhausted, distraught, and defeated. It was only the gentle sound of nearby currents that managed to soothe his soul.

The bounty hunter got off his beast and walked towards the clear ponds at the eastern area by Kardia, at the foot of Mount Gigant.

The very place were his closest ally took him to fish and to hike, was the place were he would remember such friendship, the deepest connection he had established since the farming family he had first met.

The cool, clear waters hugged his dry feet, and the sky was the usual calm. Noon was about to hit, as was seen with the sun being near the center of the heavens.

However, movement startled the young man, which caused him to quickly retreat his feet from the water and put on his boots. Standing up in alert, Raguna went to investigate the sounds by the large marble gate that was embedded into the mountain.

KASIMIR RUINS read a nearby sign.

"Hmm..." Raguna stepped closer to the gate, then heard the sounds intensify.

Suddenly, a figure appeared, startling the bounty hunter.

A young woman, skin ghastly pale, with clothes and hair to match, came out of the gate, scaring the man greatly.

"Ah.. Ah..." Raguna stammered and nearly fired, before he recognized that the figure was not a ghost but an actual flesh and blood woman, "What... what are you doing?!" he aimed his crossbow just in case.

"Did you think me for an apparition?" the woman said, "Well... hm.." she gave a soft chuckle, then used a magic spell to disarm Raguna.

"Ah!" Raguna gasped as he saw his crossbow fall to the ground, "Who-Who-"

"Who are you?" the woman said and used her magic to lift Raguna off the ground, "Is the real question here."

"Hey! Let me go!" Raguna said as he squirmed midair, "You are messing with the wrong man! I am Raguna Fetth! The most dangerous bounty hunter in the -GWAH!" he was dropped from the air into the pond nearby, crashing with a great splash.

"You are disturbing my peace." the woman said and pulled out a book, ignoring the wet man coming out of the water.

"Hreh..." Raguna growled and went to grab his crossbow, but the woman used magic to move it farther away, "Why you-"

"What's wrong, Raguna Fetth?" the woman said, "You look grief stricken... you lost a friend." she commented, catching the man's attention.

"What do you kn-"

"Someone close to your heart, the closest anyone has been since your first loss." the woman continued, setting her book down and looking at some blue stones in her hand, "A deep friend..."

"Hrm..." Raguna became hostile, then took note of the stones, "What is- oh..." he snarled, "An Oracle."

"It seems you are smarter than you appear." the woman said as she put up the stones, "However, the groans of the past still sound in your ears." she stood and started to walk into the cave.

"Hey! Come back!" Raguna yelled and tried to seize her, but was pushed back my a magical force.

"Why so hostile, Raguna?" the woman said, "I just told you a moment in your life... I did not lie to you or deceive your mind." she saw as the man stood back up.

"I don't want to hear such things." Raguna growled and grabbed his crossbow, then aimed it at the woman, "Who... are you, a stranger..." tears rolled down his face, "To tell me how I feel!?" he put his finger on the trigger.

"I know you will not shoot me, Raguna." the woman said, "It is not in your heart to murder an innocent person... like the people who hurt you do..."

Raguna's eyes shot open, then he stepped back, "Ah..."

"I believe I know you more than you do me..." the woman stepped forward, "I am Sharron, Oracle of Kasimir." she introduced herself.

"Don't touch me!" Raguna yelled and aimed his crossbow again, "I'll drive a bolt into your head, I swear to the gods!" he cried.

"There there..." Sharron said, and with a glowing palm neared the Bounty Hunter.

"Get your voodoo away from me, witch!" Raguna fired his bolt, which was deflected by Sharron and her magic.

"Hah!" Sharron counter attacked with a wave of magic that tripped Raguna up, "I-"

"Liftoff!" Raguna said and activated his rune magic, then the flight pack, and aimed to kick the oracle, only to be pushed aside and made to crash into a pillar.

"For a bounty hunter, you're a terrible fighter." Sharron said and deflected two incoming bolts.

"I am not prepared for magic..." Raguna muttered as he stood up, then grabbed his bolas and threw them at Sharron.

"Nice try..." Sharron stopped them midair and made them fall on the ground harmlessly, "You should be prepared for anything, bounty hunter-" she stopped a small canister that the man threw.

PSSHH! The canister burst open, and smoke came out of it.

"Cah! Cah!" the oracle coughed as the smoke entered her lungs.

"Ha!" Raguna fired, but no bolt shot out, "Rah! Out of ammo!" he reached for his bag, but the smoke was cleared aside by a wind spell.

"I find your lack of honor appalling," Sharron extended her arm, which sent a magic spell that bound Raguna in a lock.

"GAH! GAH!" Raguna gagged as his neck tightened, "Why... you... bi-"

Sharron slammed Raguna into one of the marble pillars, then made him crash into the ground.

"I have no reason to kill you." the oracle spoke as Raguna stood up, "But I will not hesitate to use fatal self defense if need be."

"Ha... Ha..." Raguna panted, then pulled up his crossbow again, but was quickly disarmed, "Damn... magic." he said and blasted upwards with his flight pack.

"You're using magic too." Sharron said and extended her hand, which interrupted the Raguna's magic spell, causing the bounty hunter to plummet.

00000000

Raguna groaned, and awoke in a new place, a simple place, a dark place.

"About time you arose." Sharron spoke, "Welcome to my study area." she said and showed the man her cave room, complete with star charts, torches, and various books.

"Where's..." Raguna saw that his flight pack was on the table, along with his crossbow, bolas, bolts, and gladius, "Why am I here?" he stood up.

"Because... I don't know really." Sharron said and grabbed a book, "I just find your life fascinating." she opened the periodical and sat down on a stone.

"I think there's nothing interesting about my life." Raguna grunted and grabbed his pack, then his crossbow and other weapons, "So if you don't mind, I'm going to talk to Camus's father." he said, "And then I'm going to find the bastard that killed him." he was packed to leave.

"You go ahead." Sharron said, "Go and continue to ruin your future." she grabbed some crystals, "It seems that is all your past is doing." she commented and set the book aside.

"I don't need your divination." Raguna grunted and clenched his crossbow tight, the feeling of driving a bolt into the woman's head entering his mind and arms.

"I think you should hear me out." Sharron stood, "I am only warning you about things to come-"

"Shut up." Raguna interrupted her, then turned, "Look... I don't need you to guide my life... I am fine just how I am." he looked at her body.

"Fine with how you are?" Sharron muttered, "When will it end if you take this path? Killing one murderer only makes another." she said, "This path will never end until you end."

"Well... I wish to end with a sense of fulfillment... and killing the bastard that got Camus will help move that in the right direction." Raguna said and walked up close to her, "Perhaps... You could help." he grabbed her arm.

"Nice try." Sharron shoved his arm aside, "I also know about your... track record." she added, "Believe you me... this no, really means no." she pushed him back.

"It will mean something else... soon." Raguna turned his back to her, then started to exit the ruins.

 **00000000**

"Here it is is..." The Bounty Hunter said as he stood in front of Kardia's clinic, the sun almost reaching the horizon, "Let us hope the man is here." he said and walked up to the door.

Which opened before him.

* * *

 **SM'S Time:  
Important Announcement!  
I have decided to stop Guest Reviews. Yep. It's come to this.  
Due to the high amount of nonsensical and sometimes blatant tomfoolish 'reviews', I decided to boycott guest reviews for the time being. Of course, I'll still read them, but they'll won't go up.  
I apologize to any of my Guests who truly wanted to review in a professional manner, but I really got tired after such pushing.**

 **Anywho, if you want to review as a regular user, please do!**  
 **Thank you and hope you have enjoyed thus far!**


	12. Chapter 12

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter 12**

* * *

"Help..." the beautiful red haired woman said as she stepped outside, "There's... someone... going to kill the doctor." she warned.

"What?" Raguna asked her.

"A person with a sword..." the young woman said, "You have to help him!"

"I got him." Raguna grumbled, then stepped inside the establishment, observing the thrown furniture and medical papers about.

"I don't believe you, villain!" a voice upstairs yelled, "Camus may be away from me, but he is definitely alive!"

Raguna's intrigue peaked, and he sprinted towards the stairs, and then slowly walked up them. The wood offered minimal creaking, which was overpowered by the yells and screams from two voices upstairs.

The bounty hunter peaked his head over the second floor and saw a medical doctor cornered by an armed elf.

The doctor made eye contact with him, but the young man reassured him with hand gestures.

"What are you looking at?" the elf turned and faced Raguna, "Oh crap-"

TLING! Raguna fired his crossbow, which struck the elf in the shoulder.

"AGH!" the elf screamed, but then backflipped and grabbed the doctor by the neck and placed her sword on his chest, "Move and I'll make sure he hits the floor dead, Raguna."

"Well, I never thought someone from the Guild would do this." Raguna said, "Personally attack my interests."

"I was sent to attack you personally." the elf smirked, "But the only person there was your little lap dog." she scoffed, causing Raguna's eye to twitch.

"Help me..." the doctor said.

"I will..." Raguna muttered, then aimed his crossbow.

"Oops... you're gonna hit him." the elf hid her head behind the doctor's, "Would be a shame if you killed him, no?" she chortled.

"Hmph... well, that won't happen." Raguna said, then aimed his crossbow at a nearby kerosene lamp, shot it, and caused the burning fuel to shot out and hit the other bounty hunter in the back.

"AH!" the elf screamed as her back caught on fire, letting go of the doctor in pain.

"Hrah!" Raguna ran and grabbed the elf woman, then slammed her into the wall, "You stupid- harlot!" he grabbed her by the hair and smashed her head with a vase.

"AHHHHYY!" the elf shrieked in pain, then was picked up by the bounty hunter and taken to one of the windows.

"Time for you to make a hot exit." Raguna said, wincing a bit from the fire on her body, "HRAH!" he threw her out of the window.

"AH!" the woman fell and hit the ground, hard.

Raguna walked up to the window, and aiming at the elf's head, fired his crossbow.

"That was for Camus."

00000000

"Ah... Ah..." the red haired woman stammered as Raguna stepped out with the doctor, watched by the other villagers who had heard the commotion.

"I am sorry." Raguna held the doctor, who was sobbing, "I lost him too..."

"Raguna Fetth... he paired up with you?" the doctor said, "My boy paired up with a criminal!?" he cried to the sky and ran off.

The villagers glared at Raguna, at his deed that was sprawled on the ground, burned and bloody.

"So what?" Raguna mumbled lowly, "I am a killer!" he exploded and yelled at the villagers, "And I am proud of it! I kill the killers!" he yelled, "I kill those who enjoy killing! I am the good man!" he slung his crossbow.

"All Killers must Die..." he grumbled and walked out of the town, only to be stopped when he heard a voice condemning him, which was joined by several others.

The red haired woman stood silent as she saw the bounty hunter leave.

00000000

"Come on, Buffomave." Raguna muttered as he mounted his beast, the moonlight providing his field of vision a source of illumination, "Ungrateful-" he heard a crunching in the leaves.

"Raguna... the most feared bounty hunter on the continent." a low voice said, which caused Raguna to turn and open his eyes.

"Afars..." Raguna muttered as he saw the best assassin in the world standing in front of him, the white dragon tooth on his neck shining like a star.

"You killed my brother... prepare to die." the black man grumbled and pulled out a huge steel bowie knife.

"You know that will not happen." Raguna pulled up his crossbow, then shot first.

"HRAH!" Afars rolled forward and tackled the bounty hunter into the water.

SPLASH! The two men fought under the pond, the assassin getting the upper hand since he was on top.  
Afars grinned as he grabbed Raguna's neck, then aimed to both choke and drown him. However, this was not enough and also slit Raguna's left arm, causing the nearby water to be colored a deep red.

Raguna screamed as he aimed his crossbow, then shot the assassin in the thigh.

Afars flinched in pain and let his grip falter, a mistake which cost the escape of his target.

Raguna booted the assassin to the surface, allowing him to swim off and back to the surface a distance away. "HA!" he took a breath once his head was out of the pond, "HRAH!" he lifted his crossbow, but it was knocked out by one of the assassin's throwing knives.

"I got you now!" Afars swam with his large knife towards the bounty hunter, "RAH!" he struck down.

"HA!" Raguna jumped back and avoided the stab, then took out his gladius and swung it weakly.

"Nice try." Afars grabbed his sword arm and twisted it, causing the young man much pain, "But you fail..." he reached for his knife, but was struck when Raguna grabbed a spare bolt and rammed it into his flank, "RAGH!" he groaned and stepped back.

"Haha...ha..." Raguna panted and swam for his crossbow, which had by this point sank, "Damn!" he yelled and dove down.

"Not going to happen... white man." Afars dove as well, brandishing his knife, then saw as Raguna tried to get his crossbow, which was stuck in tree roots.

Raguna strained to remove it, but was then put in a neck hold by the assassin, how then stabbed his flank and cut his thigh, causing more blood to taint the water.

Afars smirked and was about to stab Raguna in the jugular, but was then stopped when something raised him from the water and threw him into the land.

"ARHH!" the assassin yelled as he crashed on the hard marble stones, "What the!?" he turned to see Sharron, eyes glowing white and palms shrouded by a white aura, "Stupid girl..." he stood up and grabbed one of his throwing knives, then launched it.

Sharron deflected it easily, then extended her palm, which released a magic that started to choke Afars.

"GAH! GAH!" Afars gagged, then tried to reach for one of his poison gas grenades, but was then struck by a bolt to the back.

"Ha.. Ha..." Raguna rose out of the water with his crossbow, then dragged himself up to dry land, "I'll handle this." he put the crossbow at the base of the suspended man's neck, "I'll send you with your brother." he grumbled, and then pulled the trigger.

 **00000000**

"Once a killer, always a killer." Sharron said as she carried Raguna into Kasimir Ruins, her white dress now stained with his blood, "When will you learn?"

"I only kill to avenge them." Raguna said, pretty delirious because of his injuries at this point, "Their voices call out to me... 'Avenge our blood'! 'Avenge it'!" he ranted as he was laid down on a makeshift bed.

"Oh... Raguna... if only you knew your future." Sharron stroked his forehead with a cool towelette, "But then again I believe you would deny it until the end." she muttered.

* * *

 **Please Review**


	13. Chapter 13

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter 13**

* * *

Raguna stepped into the Hunter's Guild, which caused the entire mood of the tavern to go tense. Every single soul inside glared at him.

"R-R-Raguna?" one of the bounty hunters stood up, "You- DWA." he was shot in the head, making everyone take out their weapons.

"All of you are against me?" Raguna saw the old tavern owner hide behind the desk in fear, "Come on out, Willis." he told the elder, who trembled as he stepped out, "You are innocent in the matter." he stepped away from the exit.

"T-Thank you!" Willis cried in joy as escaped with his life.

"Now... you know what the Sechs Military does to traitors?" Raguna asked as he looked at all his former comrades, "They burn them alive..." he chuckled and rolled back, shutting the door behind him.

Now since the guild hall was in the interior of the tavern building, there as no windows, and all the bounty hunters gained an eerie feeling in their throats.

Suddenly, down the chimney, a flask of kerosene dropped down, and then a match... The gates of hell were released as fire erupted everywhere.

The bounty hunters screamed and ran to the only exit door, but found it to be locked.

"Son of a bitch!" one of the men yelled as he tried to open it, then let way for another burly man with a huge axe to hack it down.

KRASH! The door gave way... to more fire.

"No!" the bounty hunters yelled as the smoke and the fires overcame them.

00000000

Raguna stood by the chimney, which was now releasing smoke, and picked up a small keg of gunpowder.

"This is for traitors." he muttered, and let the keg fall inside.

00000000

"Step away!" some Sechs soldiers told the masses as they tried to give way for the city firefighters to fight the flames that engulfed the tavern.

"Isn't this the Bounty Hunter Guild?" one of the soldiers asked his comrade as they tried to hold back curious civilians.

"Yeah!" the other one responded, "Who could have attacked it!?" he asked.

Raguna stood in the masses as he saw the building collapse to the ground.

00000000

"Who did this, Willis?" a soldier asked the old man at the local constabulary, "Who killed all of those bounty hunters?"

The old man refused to speak and looked down.

"Who ever did that killed more than 60 people! He must be put to justice!" the soldier slammed the table, "So either you tell us or we'll just have to get the answer out of you!"

"It was..." Willis sighed, "Raguna..."

"Raguna Fetth?" the soldier gulped, then looked at the constable.

"We have to capture him..." the constable muttered, "The most dangerous bounty hunter to walk this empire... Get every man we have."

00000000

"HYAH! HYAH!" the city guard force galloped off to Raguna's location, the city inn, then surrounded it all around.

"Raguna Fetth!' the constable yelled to the third story front right window, "Come down! We need to talk to you!"

The window opened, but no one walked up- however, the soldiers still pointed their bows and crossbows at it.

"What to me and to you?" Raguna's voice yelled back, "What have I done wrong?"

"Nothing! We just need to talk!" the constable neared the building, closely watched by soldiers, "So step out and let us have a drink over this!"

"Hmm..." Raguna stepped forward, locking eyes with the woman, "I don't really like to share drinks with women unless they share their bed with me as well." he smirked, "But there is one thing I want to share." he said and let a small metal ball fall down.

"Huh?" a soldier looked at the ball, then gasped, "GRENADE!" he yelled and grabbed the constable.

KAPPOOM! The grenade exploded and took both the constable and the soldier out.

"GET HIM!" the soldiers yelled and fired at the window, but Raguna burst through the roof and started to fire at them, using his flying pack to avoid the counter attack.

"DWAH!" soldiers left and right fell to the bolts being fired at them.

"I don't see what I did wrong!" Raguna yelled as he landed, then lit and threw another grenade behind a wagon, where some soldiers were hiding.

KAPOOOM! The explosion killed the soldiers behind.

"They were traitors, and traitors deserve death!" Raguna continued, then shot another soldier, "They killed my best friend behind my back..." he instantly remembered the farming family, and the images of them churned through his head.

The mother and daughter's charred bodies, the farmer's slit throat... All while he was away.

"AUGH!" a soldier was hit in the eye, the last man standing was down.

"I am the good man..." Raguna muttered and walked to Buffomave, who was saddled nearby, "I was the one doing good!" he told the civilians who were cowering in fear, then rode off.

00000000

"Raguna Raguna..." Sharron moved some monster bones around, "It will all come back to you... stop this... don't ruin your future because of your past!" she cried out and slammed her divination table.

 **00000000**

"Ha.. Ha..." Raguna panted as he reached the edge of Kardia's limits, both he and his steed were exhausted, "I'm tired..." he muttered, then dismounted his buffaloo and walked towards Kasimir Ruins, "But... I have to tell her that everything is fixed now.." he growled.

Fighting dense brush and trees, the bounty hunter weakly made it through the forest, instantly falling on his knees once he reached the pools outside the ruins.

"I knew you were coming..." Sharron said as she looked up to the starry night, "I'm here to tell you... you did a wrong thing."

"Wrong thing!?" Raguna stood, "I killed the killers! I should be honored! That's what I have done with my entire life! Avenge!" he pointed at her, "And it's finally over!"

"No it's not." Sharron responded, "It's never going to be over... you will just gain new reasons to kill someone... be it gold, or just to fulfill the hatred of your past... your lust for blood and coin is going to consume your soul."

"Shut up." Raguna said, "You don't know my future." he growled, "You know my name... not my story. I am Raguna Fetth! The Most Feared Bounty Hunter on the Continent!" he roared.

"Yet you still fear one thing." Sharron told him, "Even the great dragons have nightmares..." she added.

"I am no dragon... I am a man... and a man I will always be." Raguna grumbled, "A man who destroys murderers and prophecies alike." he scoffed and walked up to her.

"I am only concerned for you, Raguna." Sharron said, "Your past will swallow you up if you don't let it go-"

"Shut up! You don't know what I went through!" Raguna exploded.

"My parents were killed!" Sharron snapped back, "They were killed in the Diviner's Purge!" she said, "Don't say I don't have a painful past! I also lost it all!" she pushed Raguna back with magic, "Yet, I don't get submerged in it... I move ahead, trying to better myself!" she continued, "I never use my past to justify evil! I use it to perpetuate my good spirit!"

"Then we two... are on different dimensions.." Raguna stepped up and grabbed her, "Do not talk to me again." he said and went off staggering, revealing he had a cut on his shin.

"Raguna..." Sharron mumbled as the man walked off down the stone road...

* * *

 **SM's Time-  
WARNING: After this, Raguna's position deteriorates much further to the point he does some bad things. I do not condone these activities and explicitly condemn them throughout the duration of the story. Just a heads up.**

PLEASE REVIEW


	14. Chapter 14

**The Earth's Bounty  
Chapter 14**

* * *

Raguna stumbled into the town of Kardia, and under the cover of moonlight, went towards the clinic.

Grimacing in pain, he knocked on the establishment.

Inside, the red haired woman woke up, "Who could it be at this hour?" she mumbled and walked to the door, unlocking it with the key around her neck.

Raguna opened the door, startling the woman.

"It's... you!" the woman gasped and then looked at the bounty hunter's leg, "Oh my! You're hurt!"

"Thanks for noticing." Raguna grumbled as he shut the door, "Just patch me up." he growled and sat on the desk.

"Ok... Let me see." the young woman said as she looked at the cupboard, then grabbed a green flask, "This will heal you up." she handed it to him.

"Thank you." Raguna said, then drank it, making the cut on his leg stop bleeding, "Ah... You got any gin?" he asked.

"Oh... no..." the woman said as she grabbed some bandages, "Here..." she said and looked up at him.

"Say... what's your name?" Raguna asked the woman, "I want to remember you."

"Lara." the woman said, "And you are the Bounty Hunter... Raguna Fetth, right?" she asked, as she tied the bandage around his leg.

"The man, the myth, and the legend." Raguna chuckled and saw a brown bottle in the cabinet, "Hey... you do have gin!" he grumbled, "Why are you lying to me?" he slid off the desk and walked to the cabinet, punching the glass and grabbing the beverage.

"Those are fo-" Lara stopped when she noticed her words would be futile, "Raguna-"

"What?" Raguna stopped drinking, "Make it quick." he said.

"When you were here... I didn't want to condemn you as a criminal..." Lara muttered, which caused Raguna to stop drinking, "I thought you had a point."

"Well well... finally someone sees my grandeur." Raguna chuckled, "I like that..." he bobbed his head.

"However, I have to disagree with your methods." Lara continued, "Killing people for their sins is not a good idea... I believe everyone deserves a chance, everyone deserves that kindness." she told him.

Raguna frowned.

"Raguna... I don't want to see you as a killer." Lara said, "I want to help you... So you could better yourself..." she smiled and held his hand.

"Help me?" Raguna scoffed, "What do I need help with? And why do I need to better myself?" he stood up and glared at her.

"You... you..." Lara felt intimidated, "Raguna... your methods are not right... everyone deserves forgiveness and a second chance..." she muttered and held her little cross tight.

"Ah... I see..." Raguna, now a bit drunk due to the curing potion and gin mixing deleteriously, chuckled, "So... you believe... well, all those monks and nuns, believe someone who has killed a whole family should not receive a bolt to their head?" he laughed, "Now that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Yes, because it's a kindness!" Lara told him, "God allows evil in the world so we could see why we need him... because without him we are all barbarians that kill each other... but with one person changed... that kindness can spread-"

"Every day my faith disappears like snow in the sunny field." Raguna said, "And now you tell my there's some deity that allows things like this... He tells us to react to people with swords by holding up flowers?" he growled, then glared at Lara.

"Yes... because-"

"I wish someone would have told me that when I saw those bodies on the field! Burned!" Raguan held Lara by her cross necklace.

"Ah!" Lara gasped in fright as the bounty hunter seized her.

"Tell me... does your God of brass allow me to do this?" Raguna smirked, then pushed Lara onto the desk, "I'll give you kindness... you beautiful woman you..." he muttered.

"Stop! Please!" Lara cried as she tried to push him off, "Stop!"

00000000

Raguna placed on his armor as he looked at Lara laying on the hospital bed.

"Please don't leave me..." Lara, looking away, muttered as she covered her shame with the thin blanket, "Please..."

"There is nothing I need from you anymore..." Raguna scoffed and grabbed his crossbow, "I'm being kind to you by leaving." he chuckled and walked out.

 **00000000**

Raguna looked ahead and saw that an entourage of soldiers was coming his way, illuminated by their torches.

"There he is!" one of them yelled, revealing they were not of Noradian or Sechs origin, but were Eastern mercenaries.

"Really?" Raguna muttered as he aimed his crossbow, but stopped when he had to avoid and incoming arrow fired at him, "Ha!" he yelled and flew towards them, frightening their horses and causing them to fall off.

The soldiers, three women and two men, jumped up and regained their footing, then unsheathed their katanas and looked at the Bounty Hunter.

"We've been sent to capture you." one of the men spoke, "Surrender now!"

"Hmph." Raguna landed, "You made a grave mistake." he said and aimed his crossbow.

"Watch out!" the other man pulled up his bow and fire, but was struck in the return fire and died.

"AGH!" Raguna growled as he was hit in the shoulder, then saw the others charge at him, "Die!" he jumped back and fired his crossbow, but scored no hits.

"Hyah!" one of the women chopped down, almost getting Raguna's foot, "Damn it!"

"Move, Mikoto!" the other swung her naginata down and managed to chip Raguna's chesplate.

"Take this!" Raguna shot the man that was coming to hit him with some throwing knives, then shot him again until he died, "It'll take more than that to take me down."

"Mei... do it!" Mikoto yelled and the third woman appeared and struck Raguna's arm.

"ARGH!" Raguna growled and picked up his crossbow, only to get hit by the naginata's staff in the temple, knocking him down.

"We got him, Uzuki, bind him." Mei told the naginata wielder as she pulled out some rope, "We need to get him across the border before- GAH!" she was shot by a bolt in the stomach and was knocked to the ground.

"Hrm..." Raguna fired another bolt, but this was deflected by Mikoto and her katana, "The art of Bushido..." he smirked and stepped back.

"You dare mock our honor?" Mikoto muttered as she took note of Uzuki helping Mei up, "We tried to get you alive... but now you must die." she said and charged.

"AH!" Raguna was taken back but quickly pulled out his gladius and parried the katana, "GRRR..." he growled as he tried to regain his stance.

"HYAH!" Uzuki tripped the bounty hunter with her naginata staff and caused him to fall, "Got you!" she put the blade on his neck.

"Well... that was thrilling." Raguna chuckled, "But they don't call me the Most Feared Bounty Hunter on the Continent for nothing." he said and pulled out a smoke bomb.

PSSSHH! The smoke drove his assailants back.

"Cah! Cah!" Mikoto coughed, then was hit by a bolt on the thigh, but her samurai armor blocked most of it, "Damn!" she tried to look in the smoke.

"GAH!" Uzuki was suddenly wrapped by bola wire, and she fell to the ground.

"Where is he!?" Mei growled as she tried to look beyond the smoke.

"You're hurt..." Raguna's voice went through the smoke, "Next one will put you down." he told Mei, then another bolt shot out and hit Mei on the stomach again.

"AGH!" Mei collapsed to the ground, defeated.

"Show yourself, you dishonorable-" Mikoto's eyes sharply opened when she felt blood trickle down her flank.

"A gladius is made of carbon steel..." Raguna, who was standing next to her, smirked, "It overpowers the steel that makes up your eastern armor..."

"Ha..." Mikoto exhaled and collapsed, alive, but completely vanquished.

A wind picked up, and the smoke was cleared out, and at the end of the road stood Sharron, who shook her head in shame.

"About time you showed up." Raguna muttered and sheathed his sword, then grabbed his crossbow and started to reload it.

"I seriously thought you could be changed..." Sharron sighed, then saw as Raguna walked towards her.

"Thank you for the concern... but I don't need it." Raguna muttered and limped forward while holding his injured arm.

"I'm afraid I have no choice." Sharron extended her arm and struck Raguna's forehead with a magic enhanced hand, instantly knocking out the bounty hunter.

* * *

 **SM's Time-  
This was a pretty dark chapter.  
Review.**


	15. Chapter 15

**The Earth's Bounty  
Chapter 15**

* * *

"Raguna... I'm sorry." Sharron spoke as she had Raguna bound in a cage, "I saw your future, I didn't want you to fall to it."

"Let me out of here!" Raguna tried to move the bars, but his attempts were futile, "I don't give a damn about your prophecies."

"Well I do!" Sharron responded, "I have no choice but to keep you here until you're a better person!" she muttered, "And if it takes forever and a day... I will wait that long."

"Stupid..." Raguna grumbled and sat down in anger.

00000000

"And you saw him where?" a Noradian soldier asked Uzuki, "Headed to?"

"He was headed to the west." Uzuki responded as she saw her comrades being attended to, "I'm pretty sure I saw he had an accomplice." she stretched her arms.

"There they come..." Mikoto muttered as she saw a wagon arrive, and six men jumped off, "Noradian Marines." she saw the men walk up to them.

"Alrighty... what do we have here?" a tanned brunette man chuckled, "Can't see why they sent paid women to do a real soldier's job." he said and slung his repeating crossbow behind him.

"The name's Colonel Aden." a gray haired man walked up, "You were the ones hired to gather the Bounty Hunter, right?"

"Yes... but failed." Mei muttered as she hung her head in shame, "He got away from all of us."

"He won't get very far now, James, get me a map of the area." Aden told the blonde haired marine to his left, "Joe, get us every weapon we need." he told the brunette man.

"Gotcha, boss." Joe went to grab supplies.

"We'll be here to attend them." the three other marines told him, "You need anything else?"

"No, we'll get him with what we have." Aden said, "We're commandos, after all." he chuckled and put on his helmet.

"Let's go kick some hunter ass." Joe grabbed the big one-shot crossbow, "This'll punch any armor."

"I got the maps." James said, "There's a highway heading to the border town of Latakia to the west... maybe he hit there." he informed.

"That's where we go." Aden muttered, and they grabbed their steeds and rode off.

00000000

"Huh..." Raguna sighed as he saw Sharron once again throw her crystals, "It doesn't seem to be getting better, does it?" he chuckled.

"You shouldn't be laughing about it..." Sharron grumbled, "It's your future." she sighed and once again threw the crystals.

"I don't believe in fortune telling." Raguna told her, "I think the future is all fine under my control." he smiled and looked at his cut arm.

"Tell me, Raguna... why don't you want to change!?" Sharron stood and walked up to him, "I'm trying so hard to convince you that this way will only lead to your destruction! Why don't you listen!?"

Raguna grinned, "I am listening... that's all you've talked about the whole three days I've been here." he chuckled, "But... maybe you should just trust me..." he mumbled.

"I wouldn't trust you with a piece of paper and a pen." Sharron commented and walked towards him, "Why would I trust you with your own days?"

"Because... I am the one who makes the choices to save them." Raguna smiled, "And you seriously have made me think twice... My past shouldn't govern me..."

"Oh really?" Sharron crossed her arms, "And I'm supposed to believe you."

"Because right now, I am not Raguna Fetth, the most feared bounty hunter on the continent." Raguna responded, "Right now, I am a man who could be talked to like a person." he said.

Sharron mumbled to herself, "Y-Y-You really want to change your future?" she asked.

"Yes..." Raguna nodded, "Knowing that there is someone who cares for me... who is watching out for me... it makes me want to change..." he looked at Sharron's dark blue eyes, "I've never felt so cared for in my life, this pitiful life I've lived as a murderer..." he looked down.

"Oh... Raguna.. I'm so sorry." Sharron reached into the cage and patted his hair, "I'm glad you appreciate my help."

"Not only appreciate your help, Sharron." Raguna held her hand, "I appreciate you... I appreciate everything about you. The fact that you help an outcast like me makes my life see hope... a hope I haven't seen since my good past." he mumbled.

"Raguna... are you..." Sharron saw Raguna put her hand on his chest.

"Feel this... this is the heart of a person..." Raguna mumbled and looked at her, "Thank you for giving me this."

"Raguna... I-I-I..." Sharron stood up and opened the cage, "Thank you for understanding the importance of your future..." she hugged him once he got out

"Thank you for being here for me." Raguna hugged her back, "Sharron... I love you..." he told her face to face.

"Raguna... I... I never... been told that." Sharron muttered, "I... have always been called a witch... a ghost... been told to leave or to not cook the children..." she cried, "It makes me so... happy to hear someone say that to me."

"You deserve it..." Raguna smiled and grabbed her chin, then kissed her deeply.

00000000

"Raguna..." Sharron's frail body trembled as Raguna moved in her, "Raguna!" she cried and held the man's locks.

"You're... so... weak..." Raguna smirked as he looked at her lanky body, her pale chest and arms showed years of minimal use- perhaps it was because her extensive use of magic?

"Raguna... please... be gentle..." Sharron muttered, lighting a spark in Raguna, "I... don't want to ruin... our future together.." she smiled and hugged him.

"Our future?" Raguna growled to himself, then snapped, "Our future?!" he became monumentally more aggressive to the point where his intercourse became painful to Sharron.

"Ah! Ragu- Ra-!" Sharron winced in pain.

"I'll show you your future!" Raguna grabbed Sharron's neck, and being on top of her, pinned her down, "You thought you could just trick me with your damn divinations!" he tightened his grip, "Well here's reality check- I don't play."

"Ra...Ra...Ra..." Sharron gagged and tried to perform a magic spell, but her arm was pushed down.

"I'm done with your ranting about people's pasts... You should learn not to meddle in people's business..." Raguna gave a cold stare as he started to crush her throat, "Even though I'm done taking contracts from others, I still have some from myself- and you're the first one." he smirked and finished his masculine deed in her.

"Raguna..." Sharron groaned as her eyes started to become blank.

"And guess what... I never fail my contracts..." Raguna grinned as he saw Sharron's face become devoid of expression.

Two tears fell at that moment.

00000000

Raguna, fully geared up, covered Sharron completely with the blanket, then grabbed some of the Oracle's crystals from her desk. Walking to a large fountain, the man looked at the small gemstones.

"I want to know... who hired the person who killed Camus?" the bounty hunter asked the clear, reflective pool, then dumped some of Sharron's crystals into the water.

Instantly, an image of a king appeared in the waters... The King of Norad.

"No..." Raguna said, then saw the vision of a noble visiting the monarch, and then talking about how the bounty hunter was allied with the Sechs and that he must be eliminated. The King approved of it with his seal, and the noble, covered by a cloak, went to visit the elf bounty hunter that tried to kill Doctor Edward.

The bounty hunter became silent, then looked back at the fountain.

"Tell me... Who is my last contract?" Raguna asked and threw another crystal in there, only to see that the water didn't change at all.

"My quest... will never be over..."

* * *

 **SM's Time-  
For Reviewer 'Donkey Kong'- Seeing you are an ape and this story is a 'banana', I will take this as a compliment and thus is the nicest review I had in a while, plus it made me chuckle. Thank you!**

 **Please Review**


	16. Chapter 16

**The Earth's Bounty**

 **Chapter 16**

* * *

"The Buffomave has been spotted by a border patrol scout a few kilometers from Kardia." Aden received the message from the magic book, "Raguna Fetth is headed towards your city and will arrive there by the afternoon."

"I say we stop him on the highway." James said.

"Yeah, it will be easier capturing him there." Joe added, "And if a fight breaks out, we don't get civilian casualties."

"Very well." Aden muttered, and the three Marines rode out of the city.

0000000

Raguna stuck to the empty highway, trying his hardest to reach the city in time and move from there to King's Highway, where he would go to the capital.

However, his heart yearned to go back to the Sechs Empire, as he felt he needed help for something beyond his power. Mired between his thirst for revenge and his want to go back to the people that he felt supported him, he stood on the highway for a few minutes, then turned his beast around.

"I'm... I can't leave them... after all I did." Raguna muttered, then hit Buffomave and started to go back to Kardia.

00000000

The bounty hunter stopped by Kardia in an act of defiance, but then turned a little somber when he remembered his only true friend hailed from here.

Out of respect for Camus, Raguna tipped his head towards the town, and then continued his way, only to stop when he saw a very familiar logo.

A Noradian banner, hanging high above a pole that was held by a horse, and on those horses were Marines. Not a pretty sight for someone who just conspired to kill the King and his court.

"Well well well." Joe's taunting voice said as Raguna gruffly got off his beast, "Look what we have here." they got off their horses, "Perhaps today is our lucky day."

"Raguna Fetth." Aden said as he walked up to the man and opened up a scroll, "You are wanted for crimes against the crown, the people of Norad, and its cities." he murmured, "Of course, the Sechs want you as well- but that's not exactly our jurisdiction."

"Here we go." James pulled out some rope, "I don't want any problems." he walked cautiously towards the man.

"Very well." Raguna surprisingly extended his arms, shocking the three marines greatly.

"Wow." Joe muttered and scoffed, "Really? No fight?" he saw as Raguna placed the rope on his arms.

"You want to?" Raguna smirked as James tied the rope, "I can always change my mind." he chuckled and was held by Aden.

"I don't think we want that, Joe." Aden grunted and then looked at Raguna, "Well, I guess you can ride your buffalo." he looked at the beast, "We forgot to bring another horse for you... Well... we didn't bring one because we thought you would either be dead or one of us." he joked, but it was not well received.

"Keep to the orders, captain." Joe shook his head and then pushed Raguna into his beast, "Get on it, you lug." he grunted and then turned to James.

"Well, that was either too easy or too easy." James shuddered, "Ri-"

"You were right." Raguna chuckled and looked at the marines, who turned to face him, "It's going to get a whole lot harder." he laughed.

"Why do you say that, pray tell?" Aden asked as he rolled up his scroll.

"I'm a Sechs citizen." Raguna spoke.

The Marines stood silent, growling in anger.

00000000

"Very well." Raguna muttered, "But I'm saying, your King has committed more manslaughter than I." he said as he was being pushed towards Aden's horse.

"Shut your trap." Joe muttered, "The faster we get you to our convoy at the border, the better."

"Hmph." Raguna grunted, and then pulled out a secret dagger from his sleeve.

RIP! The rope snapped, and Raguna was free.

"Huh- WAH!" Joe was kicked in the face and sent back.

"He- ARGH!" James was clocked on the jaw and was monetarily stunned.

"Don't move!" Raguna aimed his regained crossbow at Aden's forehead.

"Alright now..." Aden put his hands up, but then slapped the crossbow aside and kicked Raguna to the ground.

"Why you slimy bastard!" Joe brandished his sword and tried to strike Raguna, but his target rolled out of the way.

"Haph!" Raguna jumped back up and caught Aden's sword arm, then twisted it and punched him in the face.

"Take this!" James appeared and struck Raguna with his spear, causing the Bounty hunter to wince in pain and fall back.

"I'll cut ya!" Joe swung his greatsword and nicked Raguna's armor, "And this one w- AGH!" he was shot by a bolt.

"You're not the only one with one of those." Aden pulled up his repeating crossbow and fired, grazing Raguna's cheek.

"Take this!" James spun his spear above his head, then whacked Raguna's left calf with it, "Ha!" he swung hard and hit the bounty hunter's back.

"ARGH!" Raguna fell to the ground, then was hit with the wide end of Joe's broadsword, making him become stunned completely.

"Ha.. Ha..." Aden wiped the blood off his lip, then neared the unconscious bounty hunter, "Damn... he's goo-"

"HYAH!" Raguna swept kicked Aden, causing him to fall down, then shot James in the stomach with his crossbow.

"RAH!" Joe came up and hacked Raguna's shoulder, causing great pain.

"AHGHHH!" Raguna screamed in pain as the large blade escaped his flesh, "DAMN YOU!" he yelled, grabbed his gladius, and cut Joe's thigh.

"That's enough!" Aden kicked Raguna's crossbow out of his hand and then jumped on him, "Get down!" he grabbed Raguna's sword and punched it out of him, "Get down!" he continued punching his face.

"Hah!" Joe joined in and kicked the Bounty Hunter's flanks, then joined by James who whacked the legs with a small club.

"Ha... Ha..." Raguna panted as he received blow after blow.

00000000

Our bounty hunter was thrown into the Sechs border station by the Marines, shocking the soldiers inside.

"We want to extradite him." Aden walked in and looked at them, "He has caused crimes in Norad that are too great to ignore." he pointed at the Sechs soldiers, "I have the Royal Scroll to prove it." he pulled out the parchment.

"Well he's going to have to come with us first." a commanding voice resonated throughout the room, and a face that relieved Raguna's spirits was revealed.

There stood Cornelius, looking at the foreigners with pride.

"That man you hold there is also wanted by the Sechs authorities. And as a Sechs citizen we deserve the right to try him first." he clenched his fist.

The marines scowled and looked at the knight.

"The King requires him more than you... he has conspired to kill him." Aden responded and looked at Raguna, "Regicide is not tolerate-"

"On what grounds do you boast this claim?" Cornelius stopped him, "Present me the evidence you have and we'll go on." he raised one eyebrow.

Raguna chuckled, "Cornelius, you were always a hard man."

Joe pointed at the knight, "We have the-"

"The scroll, yes... but that's from the crown itself, just a report." Cornelius scoffed, "I want the evidence- Like I have evidence myself. I have 30 burned bodies and a blast site in a town to tend to, all with Raguna's name all over it." he walked up to the Marines, "So until you bring me that evidence, we will keep our little citizen." he made a hand gesture, and some soldiers grabbed Raguna.

"You'll see abou-" Joe was stopped by Aden.

"Are you trying to start a war!?" Aden growled, then turned to Cornelius, "We'll be back! All of you!" he yelled and led his troop out in pure shame.

Raguna scoffed at the sight, then turned to Cornelius, "Nice show-"

"You're not out of the woods yet, Raguna." Cornelius grunted and dragged him off.

00000000

"The court of Serrona is now in session." the judge spoke, "The City of Serrona against the Bounty Hunter Raguna Fetth..." he informed, "It has been my decision, after hearing the testimony of these witness.. to find you guilty as charged for: Destruction of Property and Multiple Manslaughter of both civilians and Imperial officials." he read a scroll, "Do you have anything to say?"

Raguna looked at the judge, then at the mayor, then at the new constable.

"I appeal to the Emperor." the bounty hunter said, causing the tribunal to gasp audibly.

"What?" the judge muttered, "What did you just say?"

"It is my right as a Sechs Citizen to appeal to the Emperor." Raguna repeated himself, "And the Emperor is the Iudex Maximus."

The judge, the mayor, and the constable growled in anger as some guards took him away.

 **00000000**

The Supreme Court of The Sechs Empire was in session, and the tribunal, lead by the Emperor Ethelbert himself, read the case against Raguna.

"Hm..." Ethelbert stroked his beard, and then looked at Raguna, "Well... it seems you are a bit of trouble in your outbursts." he spoke, "However, you did have proof that the bounty hunter guild conspired against you, and that the attacks on officials were in self defense. However, the city will need repairs after the explosion and the fire, so you will have to pay a fine to the city. That is the judgment! You will pay a fine to the City of Serrona for any damages!" he slammed his fist down.

The tribunal stood up and bowed to the Emperor, then left through the door.

Ethelbert looked at Raguna, who was surrounded by paladins.  
"You're back."

"You can say I have rethought some things." Raguna chuckled and then looked at the Emperor, "May I say something to his highness?"

Emperor Ethelbert looked at him, then waved his hand.

"The King of Norad seeks to kill me, and has killed my greatest friend." Raguna clenched his fists, "I loved him like a brother... in fact... he was the brother I never had." he sighed.

Ethelbert felt for the man, "Perhaps I can help you out, Raguna." he muttered.

"That's why I returned, to seek Sechs aid. I can't take on such a task alone." Raguna murmured, "Even a person as adept as I stands no chance in the King's court."

"I know. Which I why I offer my help." Ethelbert smirked, "But I'll need your cooperation."

"Anything to help my mission, my liege." Raguna bowed, "Plus, I have always trusted the Empire with my mind and heart. You all have never failed me." he grinned.

"And the Sechs will be glad to take you in." Ethelbert rose up, "You have served us well... and well you shall be treated... you are an honored citizen I am glad to share my nation with." he clenched his fist and chuckled.

"I am forever at your service, Ethelbert." Raguna rose up and looked at him, "Thank you."

"Raguna." Ethelbert opened his arms, "Welcome home."

Raguna smiled, words of comfort in a life of troubles...

 **00000000**

 **00000000**

Raguna shot a dummy with his crossbow, making the straw inside it burst out and fall into the ground, where Buffomave walked to get it.

The ex-bounty hunter chuckled and turned to face his small castle, which was remodeled and donned with the banners of both the Sechs Banner and his family crest- a new creation.

"Perhaps I can help you, hard ass..." a familiar voice spoke, and Lynette stepped up with her rapier, "Or do I leave you to yourself?"

"I've always worked alone." Raguna muttered, but then turned to face her, "Maybe I can make an exception for you... wife." he grinned and looked at the hardy commander.

"To take down the king of Norad, you'll need all the help you can get... even someone as skilled as you." Lynette taunted and danced her rapier around his chest, "Both on the bed and out of it."

"You have no idea how great I am." Raguna smirked and extended his arm, "Or do you."

"I have some idea." Lynette responded, "And so does Ethelbert... perhaps his plan to sabotage the royal family of Norad will pay off with us."

"Yes, but it will take time." Raguna said, "And I don't know how long." he pondered deeply, "However, it will be done...

I never fail my missions..."

* * *

 **SM'S time-**

 **I finished this for someone who really wanted it.**  
 **I thank you for your time, I am deeply honored.**

 **Hope you all have enjoyed and have a blessed day.**


	17. Chapter 17

**The Earth's Bounty  
Epilogue**

* * *

The Bounty hunter arrived at a small village in the middle of a large forest. Of course, like many of the settlements that were near the Great Plains bordering the Republic of Eucraft, this one was very small.

But size doesn't matter when there's a paycheck going around.

Raguna held a royal scroll, a decree from the Governor of the Kardia Province, that held all the information on his perp.

Sure he was supposed to be heading back to the Sechs Empire in order to give the intelligence to his allied commanders-

And there was this little marriage business with Lynette in two weeks.

But the bounty hunter had an eye for money, as always.  
"Well, at least the money I'll get from this will be a nice dowry." commented Raguna as he rolled up the scrolls, "Lynette may just be surprised for once."

0000000

The night caused a small town to illuminate the surrounding woods, and give a guiding point to the bounty hunter, who was arriving on Buffomave.

"Grmph." the buffaloo grumbled, visibly disturbed, "Moo!" it cried out.

"What is it?" Raguna asked his noble steed, "Hmm..." he grumbled as he felt his steed tremble.

"Grmph grmpg..." Buffomave shook his head, then felt Raguna get off of him and instantly rubbed his head on the man.

"There there..." Raguna stroked his mane with a brush, "There's not-"

An audible rustle was heard in the thick brush surrounding the road they were on, causing the bounty hunter to cock his crossbow.

"Moo!" Buffomave roared, then seemed to urge Raguna to board him.

"Come on." Raguna muttered as he jumped on the beast, then felt the monster sprint off without a command, "Woah!" he was taken by surprise by the sudden acceleration.

"ROOO!" Buffomave hit a ludicrous speed, kicking up dirt so high into the sky they almost became clouds.

"AGH!" Raguna held on tight, then finally felt relief when the beast slowed down once they entered the town proper, safe in its lights.

"Moo..." Buffomave calmed down as he stopped in front of a street light, conveniently by the Inn the town had.

"You scare me like that again, I'll have burgers for lunch." Raguna chuckled as he dismounted, getting a playful headbutt from his ally once he hit the ground.

"Ah... It's you." a voice called out, making the bounty hunter turn and aim his crossbow, only to see a young eastern woman with a naginata standing there, "The mercenary we were supposed to hear from."

"Right..." Raguna bobbed his head subtly, "Who are you?" he asked after realizing she was not a threat.

"I am the local constable... Uzuki." the young woman bowed, "I see you arrive late... perhap-"

"Got a contract from the Governor." Raguna lied as he pulled out his scroll, "I'm here to get some people obstructing the peace." he grabbed his pack and tied Buffomave's muzzle to the pole.

"I'm afraid it won't be so easy." Uzuki told him, "The governor sent soldiers to hunt the two criminals down... but they didn't come out from the woods..."

"I guess they got lost." Raguna chuckled as he pet Buffomave.

"They were ripped to shreds." Uzuki mumbled lowly, "I saw it... Whatever is out there.. it isn't human." she gulped.

"What, like a monster?" Raguna scoffed, "Makes my job a lot easier." he said as he walked towards the woman, "Say... you seem like a nice person, how about we share some tea?"

"YOU DARE TALK TO HER LIKE THAT!?" a voice yelled, startling the bounty hunter when a cricket monster with a small tunic came from behind the woman.

"AH!" Raguna aimed his crossbow, "What the hell!?"

"That's Tsubute." Uzuki spoke, "He's my... my... I don't know." she sighed, "But I'm telling you... That person out there... They're not normal!"

"You just said it wasn't hu-"

"It looked like a human, brat!" Tsubute yelled, "I saw it with me eyes!" he growled.

"Then how did it look like, o great Eastern master race..." Raguna taunted the cricket, "Enlighten me, a lowly member of the inferior Western peoples..."

"Why you-"

"Enough toying!" Uzuki yelled, "Look, bounty hunter! I did not catch its face, but it had a human form! Now I am warning you not to underestimate this criminal because whatever it is it killed a group of Noradian soldiers!"

"Very well." Raguna shrugged and walked towards the inn, "I'll keep that in mind..." he muttered and opened the door, only to see a fat man asleep on the counter.

"Apologies." a blonde woman walked up to him, "He doesn't know when to stop..." she sighed and removed some wine bottles from the reception desk, "What do you need?"

"A room for one, please." Raguna responded, then saw a gray haired girl walk in, "Or make that for two." he smirked and turned to see the young woman go sit down at a nearby futon.

"Well well." the woman said, "Ain't it a little late to be prowling?" she chuckled and handed him a paper.

"A man never rests." Raguna turned to her and read the paper, "Rita... here." he handed her the government scroll.

"Oh, you're that mercenary from Roland the governor promised us." Rita said as she read the paper, "I never thought." she said and handed the scroll back, "Just be easy with her, she works here." the woman looked at the gray haired mystery at the futon.

"I can't make any promises." Raguna mumbled as he walked to the futon, looking at the young woman on it, "Hello." he introduced himself.

The woman looked at him, then seemed to... analyze him coldly.

"The name's Raguna..." Raguna sat next to her, then was taken back by her eyes, which were separate colors, "And your name?"

The woman looked at him deeply, "Iris." she plainly said.

"Please, allow me to buy you some-"

"The tavern is at the other room." Rita called out, "Come."

0000000

"So, what's a pretty woman like you doing working at an Inn?" Raguna asked Iris as she received a bottle of tomato juice, "Uh..."

"It's my favorite drink." Iris told him, "I don't like alcohol..."

"Uh... whatever floats you." Raguna said as he received a bottle of mead, "I'm just wondering, where are you from? This town?"

"No." Iris responded, then drank her tomato juice.

"Then where?" Raguna chuckled as he took a sip.

"I can't say." Iris responded, making Raguna grumble to himself.

"Raguna here is a mercenary sent to take out whatever is in the woods." Rita intervened, causing Iris's ear to perk up, revealing they were pointed.

"Yep." Raguna muttered, upset by the interjection, "I'm just here to pass by." he sighed and saw Iris finish her juice, "Do you want another?"

"No no..." Iris said, "I'll be full by tonight." she eerily said, then looked at Raguna with a grin, "So... What do you want to do now?"

"Funny that you ask, I just wanted to see if you were up for more drinks." the bounty hunter chuckled, "But you-"

"I'll have some if you take them with me." Iris smirked, "I bet I can get more than you." she looked at Raguna.

"Sure..." Raguna chuckled, "Get me the mead." he told Rita.

00

"Agh..." the bounty hunter groaned as he held his head, "Damn... you're still good?" he saw as Iris finished her glass, "I'm about to collapse." he grumbled and pulled out a small herb from his backpack, then ate it behind Iris's back.

"Well, I'm used to it." Iris said, then saw Rita come.

"Sorry, we're closed." Rita told the bounty hunter, who was a bit tipsy, "You can go to your room of two if you want." she winked at the man.

"Hey... I like that." Raguna chuckled and stood, fumbling a bit, "Would you care to join me?"

"Room of two?" Iris smirked, "Sure..."

00

Raguna staggered into the room, then threw his bag on the large bed, "I feel kinda hot..." he chuckled and removed his chestplate, revealing his built frame under it.

"Ooh... Interesting..." Iris giggled as she looked at the man, "The testosterone in your blood will be d-"

"What was that?" Raguna asked as he tried to take off his gauntlets.

"Nothing" Iris said as she turned off the lights, "Tell me, bounty hunter, do you like fierce women?" she asked as the moonlight came into the room.

"Ah..." Raguna grinned, "I guess I should protect myself then." he put on his chestplate, then his gauntlets and turned to woman, who took off her black cloak, "Heheheeh..." he grinned as she removed the large black bow on her neck.

"I hope you're ready for me..." Iris grinned as her outer garments fell off, exposing her black lace lingerie underneath.

00

"Ahhh..." Iris moaned as she felt Raguna enter her being, "Ah... you like to play rough as well..." she smirked and pushed back with force.

"Ooh!" Raguna winced as he felt the pain on his pelvis, "Argh..." he growled, "Damn.. you're a strong one!" he grumbled and spread her legs, "I'll show you power!" he said almost competitively and lunged forward.

"Mhm..." Iris groaned and grabbed Raguna's arms, then curled her feet over his back, "For a man... you sure have your share of... power..." she gulped, "How about I... help... Ahh!" she moaned in ecstasy.

"I have my way with women that are as beautiful as you." Raguna chuckled and started to kiss her neck, but was taken by surprise when Iris pushed him away.

"It's my turn..." Iris smirked and pushed Raguna down, then sat on him, "Ah..." she exhaled and started to gyrate.

"You also... now your ways..." Raguna gulped as he felt the pleasure, then saw as Iris leaned over him, her different coloured eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"How long will you last, before you cast your seed?" Iris grinned and kissed his lips, "Because I can go on the whole night..." she chuckled and continued.

"I happen to have good virility... mind you." Raguna responded, then picked her up by surprise.

"Ah!" Iris was taken off guard as she was lifted up and pushed into a wall, where the act continued, "Ah... feisty..." she purred.

"I'm dangerous." Raguna taunted her and pressed harder, "You'll never feel another man like me..." he lunged powerfully.

"I don't think... I... will..." Iris spread her legs, "But I doubt... you'll feel another one like me..." she responded, "Child bearing hips... strong curved legs... tempting chest... you so want to cast, don't you?" she coyly whispered into his ears.

"Child bearing is coming up at a bad time, don't you think?" Raguna grumbled, "But I must say, you do have the items to do so.." he looked at her chest, "Hungh..." he panted and then brought her back to the bed.

"There you go..." Iris said as she felt the bed on her back, "You're ready... And I'm ready for you..." she told him.

"Damn! I thought I could go longer..." Raguna winced.

"Cast your seed into me!" Iris cried out, "Ah!" she moaned and hugged him tight.

"Argh!" Raguna groaned as he felt his essence leave him.  
"Well... Lynette is not going to like this..." the bounty hunter thought as he saw Iris in front of him.

00

"Hm..." Iris awoke to see Raguna was still asleep, the nearby clock reading 3 A.M, "Excellent..." she grinned and placed on her clothes rapidly.

"Mhm..." Raguna grumbled lowly.

"This is your end, bounty hunter..." Iris grinned, revealing two abnormally large canine teeth on the top row, "It's been a pleasure." she aimed her mouth at his jugular.

"HA!" Raguna woke up and rolled out of the way, then covered his nether regions with the blanket, "What the hell!?" he yelled as he saw Iris stand up.

"Oh... I thought you were knocked out like a drunkard." Iris chuckled, "I wonder how this is..."

"I always take a medicinal herb after I'm intoxicated." Raguna responded, "So I'm not plagued by the effects while I sleep or operate." he said, "Now I want to know what this is..."

"Your end." Iris grinned, then used terrible dark magic to throw Raguna to the ground behind her.

"AGH!" Raguna growled as he crashed hard, "Damn!"

"I'll make sure to remove every last ounce out of you." Iris said and was about to lunge, but Raguna rolled out of the way and grabbed his crossbow.

"RAH!" Iris deflected the incoming bolt, but was then hit on the head by the butt of the weapon and stunned for a few seconds.

"And take this!" Raguna grabbed her and threw her out the window, "You weird little..." he grumbled and ran to put on his clothes. Rapidly suiting himself up, he grabbed his flying pack and placed it on, only to hear a soft giggle.

"You think it's that easy?" Iris hovered above the ground, "You don't know me... hunter..." she extended her hand and pushed Raguna into the wall with her magic.

"Damn magic!" Raguna groaned as he stood up, "I hate it!" he grabbed his crossbow and shot her.

"Hahahaha..." Iris easily deflected the bolts, "Your little human weapons won't affect me." she giggled and charged a shadow ball in her hands.

"Uh oh..." Raguna muttered, then activated his flight pack and kicked Iris midair.

"Agh!" Iris was stunned and stopped her black magic sphere, then saw as Raguna landed on the square below, "You underestimate the power of magic..." she landed near him, then extended her arm and caused Raguna to become abnormally heavy.

"AGH!" Raguna strained to stand up and fell to his knees, "A gravity spell... damn... magic..." he collapsed on his chest.

"I must break you." Iris grinned as she amplified the spell under Raguna.

"Go... to... hell!" Raguna aimed his crossbow, then shot Iris at the flank, causing her to scream in pain, "Ha!" he yelled and flew up and back, "See you later, you crazy bit..." his words were silenced by the distance that increased between them.

The bounty hunter went back until he crashed into a building, breaking the window and falling inside.

"Agh!" the man groaned, then noticed he was on top of a pile of books, "What the hell..." he stood, and saw that he was in the library.

"You can run, but you can't hide..." Iris spoke as the books inside started to rise up and form a paper tornado.

"Holy crap!" Raguna ran to the door before he was pelted by the periodicals, only to stumble into Iris outside, "Damn..." he growled as he looked at the woman, "What the hell are you...?"

"You should know by now..." Iris smirked and neared him, causing the bounty hunter to shoot several bolts which were easily dispatched, "Sharp teeth... attacks at night... infamously young body..." she bit her bottom lip.

"Ah..." Raguna said as he lifted his gladius, then used the shiny surface to look at Iris's reflection, "Oh.. it's there-"

"What, you think I'm a vampire?" Iris chuckled, "You're so naïve, yet... a good lover." she rushed him, then tackled him into the stone wall of the library.

"AGH!" Raguna growled as he slid down the stone, "Damn... women..." he stood up weakly, then quickly reloaded his crossbow, "You won't kill me."

"Don't be sure about that." Iris chuckled made a dark magic sphere in her right hand, "I'll kill you so fast you won't even feel it." she threw the magic spell.

"Hwah!" Raguna gasped and rolled to avoid it, but then was struck by horrific blast of absolute zero cold that froze him straight into the ground.

"I can crush you like the puny human you are..." Iris walked towards him, "Look, so weak, so frail." she held Raguna's chin.

"Ah..." Raguna felt as his legs went numb, "Ha... ha... ha..." he started to pant, the chill freezing his blood, "Yet... for a puny human... I placed my seed in you." he taunted her.

"Even if I accept it... it will still have my superior blood." Iris said and lifted him from the ice, "My child will be without an inferior father, I will make sure of it." she clenched her fist, which made Raguna's throat tighten.

"Hargh! Gah!" Raguna gagged as he was raised from the air, "You... stupid..." he grabbed his crossbow and fired, hitting Iris in the chest.

"AUH!" Iris screamed as she was struck, but the magic worked itself into healing her.

"Ha..." Raguna gasped as he landed, then shot another crossbow bolt into the woman's leg.

"Why you!" Iris stood up, then prepared an ice sphere, "I will destroy you!" she threw it.

"Take this!" Raguna rolled under it, then kicked her into the ground, "I never fail my contracts." he pinned her down and put the crossbow to her forehead.

 **00000000**

 **00000000**

"What exactly did you do in Norad?" Lynette asked as she saw Raguna had bruises all around his body, quite concerned.

"Nothing much... getting intel is pretty hard when the whole country is looking for you." Raguna responded and then pulled out two bags of gold, "I got these for you." he smiled and then saw Lynette's face brighten.

"I knew you couldn't resist a hunt." Lynette scoffed, "What is this for?"

"Your dowry." Raguna answered and looked at her, "Perhaps your father will be happier with me, no?" he took off his thawed boots and saw that Lynette was reaching for his shoulders.

"Perhaps... But.." Lynette massaged Raguna's shoulders, "I know you... You never go to a hunt without swinging your sword around." she murmured and looked into his eyes, "Was she better than me?"

"You're completely assuming-" Raguna stopped when Lynette twisted his arm, "No! She wasn't!" he groaned and felt the twist get rougher.

"Really?" Lynette grunted.

"Yes! Really! She was terrible!" Raguna growled, then felt his arm release, "Nothing like you... you are a goddess." he sighed and turned to her.

"That's what I like to hear. And I will take this as your repentance." Lynette smirked and took the cash, then walked to place it on her dresser.

"I still love you, though." Raguna chuckled uneasily.

"And I do too, hardass..." Lynette responded and looked at him.


End file.
